Traces Of Life: The Shaping of a Heart
by Roschelle Templar
Summary: Before he was a sweeper and one half of City Hunter, Ryo Saeba was an orphan and a solider in a war-torn land. What kind of path led him to become the professional who seeks to protect others and serve justice? A glimpse into a very different sort of childhood.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: New story. This one will be very different from my other work in a couple ways. One thing I have been intrigued by for a long time in regards to City Hunter is Ryo's past: before he met Kaori and even before he returned to Japan and was living as a guerrilla in Central America. Thus, I decided to try my hand at a fic that explores the possibilities of Ryo's childhood after the plane crash and until he went to the US with Bloody Mary's father. I won't try to cover everything that did or could have happened, but instead, I thought I'd focus on what I think could have been "snapshot" or "turning point" moments in how Ryo turned out and why his life unfolded the way it did along with the lives of the people he grew up with and the effect Ryo had on them. Again, I know this isn't usually the kind of subject explored in City Hunter fic, but I hope at least a couple of my readers might find it interesting anyway. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who reads/favorites/reviews this. It is always appreciated. :)

_-Additional Notes_

_-Okasan:_ the Japanese word for addressing one's own mother.

-_Musuko: _the Japanese word for referring to one's own son or address one's own son.

Chapter One—Prologue

Shin Kaibara stood quietly in front of a pond he had found behind their new home, watching the reflection of his face waver in the water.

Two days previous, he had had no idea that he would be moving here. His father had come home one evening and announced that they were taking a prolonged vacation and had instructed Shin to pack his bags that night. Even at twelve years old, Shin had learned that there was usually something behind his father's words, and his suspicions grew as his parents made hurried and secretive preparations. It wasn't until they had settled in their seats on the plane, however, that his father had told him the truth.

"_Say goodbye to Japan, Shin_," he had told him. "_As of today, we are beginning a whole new life overseas. It will be a fresh start for us."_

Shin had remained silent and tried to smile at his mother, who had tears glistening in her eyes. He was sure that he knew the real reason why they were leaving Japan: his father had made too many enemies, and they were running for their lives.

Shin picked up some stones and dropped them into the water, watching the ripples disrupt the smooth, liquid mirror below him. His father never told him what his work was, but he knew that it was far from honest or clean. That idea was driven home one afternoon when he was about ten years old, and a man looking for his father came by the house while his parents were gone. The man held a knife to Shin's throat for almost ten minutes until Shin was finally able to convince him that he didn't know where his father was. He never mentioned the incident to his parents, but on that day, he stopped believing in his father.

As he crouched down near the water, Shin could see slight movements from the insects and fish that drifted by him. Now, they had moved from a nice house on the outskirts of Osaka to a cottage on the edge of a small town somewhere in Central America. He knew that he and his parents would stand out and be gawked at for being Japanese, and Shin did not look forward to the prospect of enduring that sort of treatment. Fortunately, his father knew some English and Spanish and had been teaching Shin both languages for years even though his mother forbade the both of them from speaking either language at home.

"_You are Japanese," _she said to them. "_So in our house, you will speak Japanese."_

Shin sighed and stood back up, his eyes not leaving the water. He was marginally grateful that he would at least be able to communicate with the locals even if they were sure to want as little to do with him as possible. He then smirked slightly as he realized that his mother would probably still make sure that he and his father only spoke Japanese while at home.

"Shin, where are you?" his mother's voice rang out. "Come help me with the chores."

Shin nodded and trudged back toward the house. He agreed with his father that the three of them would have to start over.

He just wasn't sure it if would actually lead to anything good.

* * *

Months passed slowly into years with little incident as Shin and his parents settled into their new life. He ended up going to a school in the city and impressing his teachers with his language skills and his sharp mind. At first, he had endured near daily fights with his classmates, but the years Shin had spent learning karate back in Japan started to pay off, and soon his reputation as a tough, resourceful fighter made it so that the taunts and attacks soon changed into a tendency for most his peers to avoid him as much as possible. This tendency only increased as Shin grew to be taller than many of his classmates, much to his parents' surprise.

About five months after moving to their new home, his father began his secret meetings and mysterious trips again, and Shin knew that his father had gotten involved in the same kind of dirty business that had made them flee Japan.

It was also around this time that his father started to teach him to use a gun.

"_Now I don't want you to think that you can start carrying this around everywhere," _his father had said to him. "_This is not a toy, Shin. I just want you to be able to protect yourself and your mother if need be. We are strangers in this place. We can't always rely on the law here to help us."_

Shin didn't bother telling his father that he knew that this had nothing to do with where they were currently living and everything to do with the things his father continued to get involved with. Instead he threw himself into the lessons, practicing until his hands were numb and calluses appeared on his fingers. Soon, his abilities vastly exceeded his father's, and he knew that this frightened both of his parents a little bit. Therefore, he made sure to practice in places far from their supervision and made sure to never mention his gun usage to them.

When he wasn't practicing shooting or fighting, Shin developed a passion for _shogi_ and _go, _sometimes playing these games with his parents, but just as often playing them by himself. He continued to excel in school and showed an interest in history, particularly military history.

During all of this, his mother grew frailer and smaller with every month that went by. One day Shin came home from school to find her hunched over the sink, sobbing as she tried to do the dishes. Not knowing what else to do, he put his arms around her waist.

"_Oh Shin, oh musuko," _she cried as she clung to him. "_I don't know what to do. I feel so alone in this place…and so afraid."_

"_Don't worry, okasan," _he told her. "_I won't leave you alone…and I will protect you. I promise."_

* * *

As the years went by, however, Shin realized that his mother had more than one reason to be afraid.

At one point, Shin had finally managed to form loose friendships with a couple of boys from his school who were outcasts much like him. One day, he came to school and was startled when one of his friends, Pedro, told him that their friend, Rafael, and his family had disappeared some time the night before. Neither Shin nor Pedro said it out loud, but both of them suspected that it was because Rafael's father was a vocal dissenter against various government officials.

"_And that was his own fault," _his father had said when Shin told him what had happened. "_That idiot should have known better than to try to disrupt the status quo. It just leads to suffering."_

That comment did little to change Shin's opinion about his father, but it was enough to further plant the seed of disgust against the dictatorship government they were living under into his heart.

Around the time Shin turned fifteen, a mercenary who went under the name "Old Jack" moved into an abandoned shack a short distance from his home. Jack soon became polite and friendly with both Shin and his mother. One day, after seeing a demonstration of Shin's fighting and shooting skills, Jack took him aside.

"_Boy, if you continue down the path you are going, you are sure to become a dangerous man," _Jack had told him. "_But if you want, I could teach you how to be a deadly one instead."_

Shin contemplated Jack's offer many times, but always hesitated to go through with it. He knew that becoming a mercenary would break his mother's heart, and he also continued to worry that his father would not be able to protect her.

Mostly because, Shin knew that his father was starting to go mad.

It did not happen all at once. It was a far more insidious process than that. But Shin had noted the gradual changes in his father's behavior and demeanor: the way his father became hyper vigilant while walking around outside, the furtive movements that became habit even at home, the long evenings spent drinking as a way to quiet the random fits of high pitched laughter. More than anything else his father ever said, did, or was involved with, this slow madness scared Shin.

Partially because he was afraid that someday he might also share the same fate.

"_You see Shin," _his father said to him one night, his eyes shining with mania. "_In the end, there is nothing good, nothing pure in this world. Men will keep killing each other for any reason, including no reason at all. Sometimes…sometimes I think I did you and your mother a great disservice by choosing to leave Japan. Sometimes…I think it would have been better if we had met out fates there….Maybe some night, I will give all of us the release from this horrific world that we deserve…."_

Ever since that night, Shin slept with his gun under his pillow at all times. Jack had once told him that, sometimes, a person could learn to develop the ability to sense not only the presence of opponents who could not be seen, but to even sense their murderous intent before they could act. After getting some initial instruction from Jack, Shin began to focus his mind and his senses on this task, and after months of intense concentration and practice, he began to be able to detect when his father was around before he actually saw him with his eyes. As time went by, he was even able to know if his father was in one of his dark, paranoid moods before even being in the same room with him.

* * *

A year later, Shin turned sixteen and had managed to graduate early from his high school due to his academic prowess. There was talk of trying to send him to one of the larger neighboring cities so he could attend university, but he was always reluctant to leave his home and his mother behind.

Instead, he used his increased spare time to continue to sharpen his survival skills and to focus on the newest relationship in his life: the one he shared with Leticia.

He had met her in his last year of school and soon, time spent tutoring her in a variety of subjects turned into long walks and trips to the local café to share coffee together.

It was on a moonlit night three months later that he shared his first kiss with Leticia while they sat by the pond near his house, and Shin knew that he had fallen in love with her.

After they had kissed, they held each other quietly for a long time before Leticia finally looked into his eyes again and smiled at him.

"Shin…what do you think you will make of your life?" she asked him.

"What will I make of it?" he echoed.

"Yes. I mean, what do you think you will leave behind?" she said. "You know, your legacy and all that." Leticia reached down and smoothed her skirt down over her legs, and Shin watched the moonlight make her dark hair glow.

"My uncle had a friend who died this last weekend," she continued. "And he kept talking about the legacy that his friend had left. This man had helped to build an orphanage, helped a village rebuild itself after it had been ravaged by a fire, and had had five sons by the time he died."

Shin put his arm around her, his face thoughtful.

"I suppose I never really thought about it," he said. "Ever since I can remember, I've been focused on getting through each day."

"I suppose that makes sense given what you've said about your father," Leticia replied. "Me, I don't know if I need anything as lofty as my uncle's friend I think just raising some children and having them grow up to be good people would be enough." She then smiled at him.

"I think you would be a good father," she said.

"Me?" Shin replied, astonished.

"Sure," she said as she put her arms around his waist and squeezed him. "You're tough, you're brave, and you are the smartest person I have ever met. I bet that you would raise strong, intelligent sons…sons who could really blaze a path in this world."

Leticia put her head on Shin's shoulder and moved even closer to him.

"Maybe someday," she said. "When my father finally approves of our relationship, we could find out if I am right."

"I don't think your father will ever approve of us," Shin laughed ruefully.

"Don't be so sure," Leticia beamed at him. "I can be very persuasive."

"I can vouch for that," Shin grinned at her.

The two of them ended up holding each other for hours, watching the moon make the pond sparkle just like the stars above them.

* * *

It was a month after that night that it happened. Shin had spent the afternoon with Leticia at the café and had stopped to visit with his old friends from school before going home for dinner.

The moment he approached the house, however, he knew that something was wrong. Instead of the usual faint sounds of his mother in the kitchen by this time of day, there was silence. He then felt a spike of something dark touch his heart and he knew that there was someone else there besides his parents…someone threatening.

Shin quietly crept in through an open window at the back of the house and went to his room to retrieve the gun from under his pillow. He continued to sneak around his house, looking and listening for any sign of his parents. Eventually he made his way into the kitchen, and that is when he found them.

Shin gasped and began to pant at the blood that had pooled on the floor. His mother and his father were lying within feet of each other, and their still forms and wide, unseeing eyes told Shin that they were dead.

He went over to his mother and knelt down beside her. Her features were frozen in terror, and even though she had only suffered a single gunshot wound to her chest, Shin was certain that her death had been far from peaceful or merciful.

Shin only glanced briefly at his father and had to swallow hard in order to stop himself from vomiting. There were far more wounds to his father's body, and he was sure that whoever had done this had made sure to punish his father for some transgression before he died.

Shin stood up and grabbed a cloth to place over his mother's face before kneeling beside her again, his head down. He thought again about the promise he had made to his mother years before to protect her and soon guilt formed a hard knot in his stomach and tears stung his eyes.

His mourning was immediately disrupted, however, by the sound of footsteps approaching him. Shin dashed over to a corner of the room behind a cabinet and listened as the sound grew louder and closer. He watched a man holding a gun walk into the room and waited until he could sneak up behind him before pulling the hammer back on his gun. The man started at the noise and turned to see Shin pointing his gun at his chest.

"Don't move," Shin blurted out. The man blinked in surprised, but then began to grin and laugh.

"Who are you kidding? You don't know how to use that thing," he taunted. "Put it away and maybe I'll make your death a quick one."

"You killed my parents?" Shin replied softly.

"Your father was warned about what could happen if he crossed the wrong people," the man sneered. "But he refused to listen to reason. So, he got what was coming to him."

"And my mother?" Shin said, his voice trembling slightly. "Why her?"

"Collateral damage," the man said, shrugging his shoulders. "Just like you will be. So you might as well stop struggling."

The man walked toward him, and Shin's hands trembled as his finger moved closer to the trigger.

"I will shoot," Shin told him.

"I don't believe you," the man responded. "You don't have it in you. Just like your old man." Shin narrowed his eyes at him.

"You're wrong," he said. "I am nothing like my father."

As soon as those words left his lips, Shin fired twice, the bullets striking the man in the chest and in the head. The man fell lifelessly to the ground with a thud and did not move. Shin watched him for a full minute to make sure that he was dead before running back to his room and collapsing on his bed, his entire body shaking.

His mind raced as he tried to figure out what he should do. He thought for a moment about going to the police, but then he knew that he would more than likely be in some kind of trouble for killing a man even though it was in self-defense. Shin figured that he would be facing prison or even worse.

Shin took a deep breath and stood back up. He didn't like what he was about to do, but he did not see that he had much of a choice. He rushed over to his closet and took out a large backpack. He then stuffed it with some clothes, his hunting knife, and some additional ammunition for his gun.

He then dashed out of the house, running as fast as he could. He did not stop running until he reached Jack's house, and once he was there, he pounded on the door.

"What is going on?" Jack said as he opened the door. "Shin? What has happened?"

Jack ushered him inside and after sitting on the floor and panting for several minutes, Shin explained what had just happened. After he was done, Jack nodded his head, his expression grave.

"You did what you had to do, kid," he said. "Don't ever feel guilty about saving your own skin that way. But…you are right in thinking that you can't hang around here. Not after that. Luckily for you, I was getting ready to move out of here soon anyway. You might as well come with me. After all, nothing's keeping you here now, right?"

Shin shook his head and did not say another word for the rest of the night. Eventually, Jack went to bed and instructed him to get some sleep before they got ready to leave later tomorrow. Shin ended up lying on the couch and spending very little time actually resting.

* * *

The next day, Shin helped Jack prepare to leave. Jack then went back to Shin's house alone to gather more supplies and to survey the scene himself. The two of them then gathered their things into a beat up jeep and Jack sped off down the main road.

"Don't worry," Jack had told him. "I made sure that someone will be coming by your place before long so your parents won't be left to rot there like that. Your mother…she didn't deserve an end like that. I'm sorry, kid."

Shin nodded and turned to stare at the road behind him. He thought again about Leticia and wished that he could explain things to her and say goodbye, but he knew that it wouldn't be safe for him or for her to do so. Instead he had to be satisfied with a silent vow he made with himself to write her at some point to let her know what had happened to him.

"I'm not going to promise you an easy time," Jack continued. "If you're sticking with me, you're going to have to learn to survive. And I'm going to warn you now that I am not going to be soft on you just because you're a kid. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Shin replied, still staring at the road behind him.

Jack nodded and focused on his driving. Shin blinked and felt tears slide down his face as he watched the house he had spent the last four years in disappear from view.

At that moment, Shin Kaibara knew that he would be starting a whole new life again. This time, however, he was determined to make sure that he would be the one who decided the path that he would follow from now on.


	2. The Meeting

Author's Note: Next chapter. Having done an outline for this, I am thinking that this might be another long one. Hopefully some of my readers might enjoy the project. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :)

Chapter Two—The Meeting

A little over three years later, Shin Kaibara sat at a table in a bar sipping at a glass of whiskey.

* * *

Six months previous, Jack had taken him for a round of beers before telling him that they would be parting ways after that night.

"_I have a friend, who I owe a favor to," _he had told him. "_I know it's a fool's errand, and it's more than likely that I'm not coming back from this one…but I wouldn't have been breathing these last ten years if it weren't for this guy, so I am going."_

Jack had finished the beer in his hand and stared at Kaibara, his gaze intense.

"_Besides, you've already learned everything that I could possibly teach you," _he said. "_Hell, you've exceeded the lessons I gave you. You're a force to be reckoned with, kid. I'm just glad that I'll never have to face you."_

Jack drank another beer before putting a hand on Kaibara's shoulder. Kaibara opened his mouth to speak, but Jack shook his head.

"_I know what you're going to say, but I'm telling you that there's no need for that," _he said. "_You helped me enough times over these last three years to make up for any sort of obligation that you might have toward me. Now, I can't tell you what to do from here…but if you want to thank me, you can make sure to find a way to put your skills to good use. I don't think I need to tell you that there's a lot of bad stuff in this world. I like to think that I put a stop to some of it, in-between my less altruistic jobs. But there's always more out there that could be done. And that's where you could come in. Find that stuff that needs to be done whenever you can."_

* * *

The next morning, Jack had left before Kaibara had woken up. Kaibara discovered that Jack had left behind his old jeep, and after packing up his few belongings, he took off down the road toward destinations unknown.

Six months after that, Kaibara was almost twenty years old and was still adrift in the world. He had traveled across much of Central America, trying to find a place to establish himself. His connection with Jack and his own burgeoning reputation had made it so that he was able to find some short-term work with various groups who needed protection, but Kaibara would never accept any offers to stay permanently. His work had given him enough money to live on, but he continued to seek something more than that.

Kaibara took another long sip of his whiskey and watched the barman and a couple of the women who worked there go about their usual chores. Often, he felt an undercurrent of hostility at places like this from the owners, but this bar was different. He had done the man who owned it a favor once while he was still partnered with Jack and ever since then, Kaibara had been welcomed whenever he stopped by for a visit.

There was only other person in the bar who was sitting at a table at the other side of the room. He was a Caucasian with blond hair and blue eyes who nursed a drink of his own. Even though he spoke Spanish to the barman, Kaibara suspected that he was a foreigner due to his accent.

The relative calm was soon disrupted when a group of three men wearing uniforms burst in through the doors.

"Tequilas for me and my men," the largest of the bunch said. "And make it quick. We do not like to be kept waiting."

The barman gritted his teeth, but said nothing as he grabbed a bunch of glasses and a bottle from his shelves. Kaibara watched as he walked over and sat the glasses and the bottle at the center of their table before hurrying back to the area behind the bar. The men laughed and poured themselves generous helpings of tequila. They drank most of the bottle before waving one of the women over to their table. Once she had arrived, the leader spit what was in his mouth onto the floor by her feet.

"This stuff is swill," he scowled at the barman. "You expect us to pay for something like this? Where is the good stuff?"

"That is the best tequila that we have," the barman said, his voice tight. "And you need to pay for the bottle you drank or…."

"Or what?" the leader said, leaping to his feet. "Is that supposed to be some kind of threat? Do you know that you are talking to the personal guard of our great leader?"

"No, no I understand, and I assure you that I wasn't threatening you, but I…."

"You should be glad that we chose to patronize this dump," the leader smirked at him. "After all, it would have been just as easy for us to wipe it off the face of this earth."

"Please, I beg you…."

"Spare me your apologies," the leader said as the men next to him laughed. "If you can't give us good tequila then we will have to find something else to make us happy." The men leered at the woman standing near them. The leader then reached over to grab her by the wrists, causing her to cry out.

"No please," the barman said, rushing over to them and bowing his head. "She's my daughter. I'll give you anything you want, just please leave her alone."

"Forget it," the leader roared before shoving him to the ground. "I think we'll just take your apology out of this woman here."

The leader grinned and the other two men started to laugh. Their laughter stopped, however, when a bullet struck the ground in front of their feet, causing them to all flinch. The woman used this opportunity to escape the leader's grasp and run over to crouch down beside her father. All of them then looked over to see Kaibara standing in front of his table, his gun pointed at the men in uniform, smoke rising from the barrel.

"Mister Kaibara," the barman choked out. Kaibara slowly advanced toward him, his gun still raised.

"Pay for your drinks and leave," Kaibara ordered in a menacing baritone voice.

"Who do you think you are?" the leader shouted at him. "A foreigner. How dare you interfere. Do you understand who we are?"

"You've already explained who you are," Kaibara frowned at them. "I don't need to hear it again. Besides, who you are does not give you the right to treat these people this way. Now, pay your bill and leave. There will not be another warning shot."

The leader and his men all glared at him, but those glares melted away in the face of the cold look in Kaibara's eyes, and for a moment their mouths fell open in fear.

The leader quickly recovered, however, began to reach for his gun.

"You," he snarled at Kaibara. "You're going to pay for that."

The leader had put his hand on the handle of his pistol, but Kaibara immediately fired and the strap holding the holster snapped, causing the gun to fall to the ground. By this point, the other two had drawn their guns, but Kaibara took aim and fired two shots. The men then yelped in pain as the bullets grazed their hands, disarming them.

"What are you doing?" the leader shouted. "Kill him."

The men stood frozen for a moment as they stared down the barrel of Kaibara's gun which was still pointed at them. The leader then pulled out a knife from his belt and rushed upward toward Kaibara, swinging it wildly at him. Kaibara jumped back and shoved his gun back in its holster. He then delivered a swift kick to the leader's chest, causing the leader to stagger back. The other two men recovered and pulled out knives of their own and ran over to join the melee. Kaibara weaved and dodged their blows, however, while handing out some well-placed punches against them. Soon, all three men were sprawled out on the floor, groaning. Kaibara pulled out his gun again and raised it toward them while resuming his hard gaze into the leader's eyes.

"Are you going to pay your bill now?" he asked them. "Or are you going to continue to cause problems?"

Kaibara was so focused on the man in front of him; he did not notice one of the men off to the side reach back and slide his gun into his hand. The man smirked and was about to lift his gun and fire when another shot rang out. All of them looked to see the blond man walking over with a revolver in his hands.

"Ah, now you heard what the man said," the blond smirked. "Don't try anything funny."

"You are all going to pay for this," the leader growled. "I'll be back here with more men and we will burn this place to the ground."

"You'll do nothing of the sort," Kaibara said. "That is, unless you want word to get around that three of the members of such an 'elite squad' were taken out so easily by a pair of foreigners."

"Right," the blond grinned, holding up a set of wallets. "And now we know what names to mention when we start talking." The men goggled at the sight and started to touch their pockets, confused as to when the blond had been able to snatch their wallets. The blond then pulled out wads of cash from them.

"I think this should pay for the damages here," he chortled. "And we'll just keep the rest as a nuisance fee for having to deal with people like you." The blond then tossed the wallets to the ground in front of them. He then moved to stand next to Kaibara, the both of them keeping their guns on the uniformed men.

"Now go," Kaibara said. "And never come back."

The men glowered at them for one last moment before grabbing their wallets and guns and silently exiting the bar. A few seconds later, the sound of a jeep speeding away roared through the windows of the bar, and Kaibara and the blond put their guns away.

The barman and his daughter then got up and approached them, their hands clasped in front of them.

"Mister Kaibara, thank you," the barman said. "Once again you have saved us."

"It's nothing," Kaibara smiled at him. The barman then turned toward the blond man.

"Thank you too," he said. "Honestly, we can't thank you enough."

"Ah, it's ok," the blond said, scratching the back of his head. "I just don't like seeing jerks like that think they can get away with whatever they want."

The blond gave the barman about half of the money in his hands, and the barman thanked both of them profusely several more times before walking away with his daughter to clean up the mess that was left. The blond man then turned toward Kaibara and held out half of what was left in his hands.

"I figure half of this is yours," the blond said. "Since you did so much of the work and all." Kaibara smirked and took the money, stuffing it into his pocket.

"You know, for the last couple of months, I had heard a rumor about an 'Oriental Devil' who was roaming around these parts," the blond continued. "A man with few equals in fighting and gun handling."

"Oriental Devil?" Kaibara said, bemused.

"Yeah, well I didn't create the rumor, I just heard it," the blond shrugged. "Anyway, I figure that they must have been talking about you, and I will say that you certainly live up to your reputation."

Kaibara smirked and let out a laugh before walking back to his table to finish his drink. He then sat the glass up onto the bar and began to walk out the door. The blond gulped down the rest of his drink before dashing out of the bar to follow him.

"Say, my name is Stephen," he said. "Stephen Norester. I heard the barman say that your name was Kaibara. Is that Japanese or something?"

"Something," Kaibara said, not slowing his pace as he walked over to his jeep. He got in and sat behind the wheel. Norester moved to lean against it.

"You know, if you are looking for some action, I know just the place," he said. "A friend of mine told me about a guerrilla group who is fighting against the government around here, the government who has people like those thugs under their control. I was thinking of joining up with them, and I bet they could use a guy like you."

"What makes you so sure they would want an Oriental Devil in their group?" Kaibara chuckled at him.

"Ok, yeah funny guy," Norester said ruefully. "But I wouldn't worry about being able to join. I'm sure one demonstration of your marksmanship skills would be more than enough to recommend you. I have to say that you're one of the best shots I've ever seen. I saw you graze two of those idiots in the exact same spot on the back of their hands. How did you learn to do that?"

"Practice," Kaibara replied.

"Fine, don't tell me," Norester grumbled. "Anyway, I'm going over to the next town to meet with the guy who plans on introducing me to the guerrilla group. You want to join me or not?"

Kaibara said nothing and turned the key in the ignition. Norester nodded and went back over to his own jeep. He was about to turn on the car when a hand touching his arm startled him. Norester whirled around to see Kaibara standing beside him.

"Geez, you about gave me a heart attack doing that," Norester grumbled. Kaibara smirked again and swung a pair of duffel bags he was holding onto the back of Norester's jeep.

"My car won't start," Kaibara said. "So it looks like I'm going with you."

"Just like that, huh?" Norester grinned. "Fine, get in."

Kaibara nodded and adjusted his bags before climbing into the passenger seat. Norester then started up the jeep and took off down the road.

"My name is Shin Kaibara," Kaibara said after a minute of riding in silence. "And yes, I am Japanese…and from your accent, I'd say that you're from the US."

"You got me there," Norester laughed. "Yeah, I'm from the States. My dad was a mercenary and I guess I just sort of fell into the family business. What about you? It's not too often that you run into a Japanese person around here. How did you end up in this part of the world?"

"It's a long story," Kaibara said, crossing his arms over his chest. He then became silent again, and Norester shook his head.

"I get it," he said. "You don't want to talk about it. Well Shin Kaibara, I can tell already that this is not going to be a boring journey."

* * *

Norester's words ended up being prophetic.

Both he and Kaibara were accepted into the guerrilla group, and after learning more about their cause, both of them became committed to group's goals. They then spent the next four years fighting against the military and against hordes of looters who took advantage of the civil war that was raging to plunder the isolated villages in the countryside.

Being as they were the only two foreigners in the troop, Norester and Kaibara were frequently paired together for mission assignments. On the surface, it seemed like an unlikely team. Norester was usually boisterous, carefree, and charismatic while Kaibara tended to be taciturn, demanding, and serious.

But for all of their differences, they also shared many of the same strengths which included fortitude, superior fighting and shooting skills and highly honed senses that were coupled with even sharper tactical abilities. The both of them quickly developed a reputation as the two most formidable soldiers within their group, and soon every faction of the resistance had heard about the exploits of the foreign "angels of destruction".

After months and years of working together, Norester and Kaibara developed a close friendship that found its best expression in their fighting partnership. The two of them learned to think and act as one and they soon rose into leadership positions within the guerrilla group.

Wary of forming attachments that could lead to complications, Kaibara usually chose to keep to himself and would only associate with members of the guerrilla group with even those associations being superficial at best due to the apprehension many of the other soldiers felt about him.

Norester, however, was not only popular within the troop; he also chose to maintain a collection of casual relationships with women in many towns and cities throughout the country. When he met a nurse who worked with a humanitarian aid group from the US, however, Norester began to re-think bachelor life, and six months later, Kaibara attended a brief civil ceremony where Norester married the nurse during a trip to Mexico where they crossed the border to the US for a couple days. Norester then spent about a month in Mexico on his own with his new wife before returning to the guerrilla group. Ever since that point, Norester would take brief sojourns to visit her, but would always return to lend his support to the civil war that continued to grind onward.

* * *

One afternoon, four years after their first meeting, Kaibara and Norester were sitting on the ground next to one of the houses in the village that served as one of the many hideouts for their troop in the jungle. The two of them smoked cigarettes while watching the other men mull around them.

"My wife sent me another picture of my daughter," Norester said. "I can't believe that Mary is already a year old."

"Still gushing over your daughter, I see," Kaibara smirked at him. "And I can remember a couple years ago when you never thought about a woman for more than three days in a row. And when children were completely out of your point of view."

"Hey, fatherhood changes a guy," Norester grinned. "And honestly, it's an amazing feeling, being a father. There's nothing like it. I'm telling you that you're just never the same after you have a child of your own."

Norester took a long drag on his cigarette and watched the smoke curl up toward the sky.

"Now that I have a kid of my own, I understand even more why the people here want to secure some kind of future for their families," he continued. "I just wish I could see Mary more often….but I'm glad that I made sure to send her and her mother out of this war zone."

Kaibara shrugged his shoulders and nodded and the two of them fell silent for several minutes.

"I was talking to Jose earlier," Norester said after taking a puff on his cigarette. "Remember that plane we saw? You know, the one we saw crashing into the jungle about four days ago? He said that it crashed about ten miles from here. From what he could tell, there weren't any survivors."

"It was a passenger plane, wasn't it?" Kaibara said. "It didn't look like it was from this country."

"Nope, you were right, it wasn't," Norester said. "It has some foreign language on it. I can't remember all the words he said…One of them sounded like 'neepon'."

"_Nippon_," Kaibara corrected him. "It's another way to say Japan."

"Really?" Norester said. "Hell, then it must have been from Japan. Your home country. Too bad everyone was killed. Now, that I think about it I bet it got caught in the crossfire from when the government sent that fighter plane to try to firebomb us. How much you want to bet those poor bastards were killed by some stray gunfire just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"Same as always," Kaibara sighed. "More innocent people getting killed because of war's relentless thirst for new targets to eliminate."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Norester said, taking one last drag on his cigarette and then smashing it into the ground. "Well, I'm going to go check on the guys guarding the perimeter. I'll see you in a couple hours."

Kaibara nodded and stared up at the sky while finishing the rest of his cigarette. It had been a long time since he had thought about Japan or the life he had had there. Once in a while he would still think of his parents, but even their memory grew increasingly distant over time.

Kaibara discarded the tip of his cigarette and closed his eyes. His time spent in this guerrilla group and the things he had seen had made it so that he tried to avoid being sentimental whenever possible.

But he still found himself hoping that the passengers on that plane did not suffer too much before they died.

* * *

Meanwhile, Norester talked to a couple of scouts who had gathered information on the latest movements of the military before walking around to check on the perimeter. He had been digesting this latest news for several minutes before the sound of jeering caught his attention. He frowned and marched over to where a pair of soldiers were hunched down and poking their guns at a figure on the ground. As he approached, Norester could tell that the two men in question were Sanchez and Escovado, both of whom had reputations for being troublemakers.

"What is going on here?" Norester said as he walked up behind them. Both men immediately stopped laughing and turned to face Norester, their postures tense.

"Nothing," Sanchez said. "We just caught someone trying to sneak into the camp and were trying to teach him a lesson."

Norester's frown deepened and he looked around them to see a small boy sitting on the ground, his face hidden by his arms which were clamped over his head.

"What are you talking about?" Norester said as he shoved in-between them. "He's just a child."

"He's probably a spy from one of the villages who are sympathetic to the government forces," Escovado scoffed. "There's no other reason why he'd be out here in the middle of the jungle."

"Idiot," Norester growled as he crouched down beside the boy. "Can't you see that he's too young for something like that? Since when are we the kind of thugs who torment a little kid?"

Both Sanchez and Escovado frowned and lowered their heads in shame. Norester then turned his attention to the boy on the ground. He noticed that the boy's clothes were dirty and torn, and completely inappropriate for wandering around in the jungle.

"Hey, hey kid," Norester said. "Hey, can you hear me? It's ok. You're safe now. Hey."

Norester was in for a shock, however, when the boy lifted his head, and he saw that the child had Asian features.

'_Who…who are you?'_


	3. The Beginning

Author's Note: Next chapter. I already had it written, so I decided to just go ahead and post it now. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

_Additional Note:_

_-Italics:_ For the purposes of this chapter (and probably other ones in the future), when I have a character speaking in italics, it's meant to show that they are speaking in Japanese as opposed to English or Spanish which I imagine would have been the more common languages spoken in this setting. :) Thus, they will be using Japanese conventions for names and titles in their dialogue as well (last name before first name, etc).

Chapter Three—The Beginning

The boy stared at Norester for a long moment, and said nothing, his eyes swimming with tears.

Norester was at a loss to know how this boy ended up here and what to do next. He then wondered if the child could even understand him and tried speaking in English, but got no response whatsoever. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, and acting on a hunch, he cleared his throat.

"Um_, konnichiwa_," he said hesitantly as his mind tried to recall a couple of the words Kaibara had taught him in Japanese.

The response from the boy was instantaneous as his mouth fell open and his gaze grew even more intense. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out other than a tiny cry. Norester then looked up at Sanchez.

"Go find Kaibara," he said. "Tell him that I need him over here now."

Sanchez nodded and ran off with Escovado continuing to glare at the scene in front of him. Norester looked back down and carefully placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"It's all right," he said, trying to sound reassuring. "No one is going to hurt you here."

The boy continued to say nothing while tears finally leaked out of his eyes. Norester wished that he could do something more and felt helpless in the face of the child's distress. He continued to pat the boy's shoulder, but couldn't help but notice how the child flinched in response.

A couple minutes later, Sanchez returned with Kaibara walking close behind.

"Norester, what is going on?" Kaibara said. "What…?"

Kaibara immediately stopped talking, however, the moment he saw the boy on the ground looking up at him. Norester glanced down and noticed that the boy did not seem to be able to take his eyes off of Kaibara, even as tears continued to fall down his cheeks.

"They found him wandering at the edge of the camp," Norester said, waving a hand at Sanchez and Escovado. "I tried saying that greeting you taught me in Japanese, and he responded to it. Do you think he could actually be a survivor from that plane crash?"

Kaibara crouched down in front of the boy and continued to stare into his eyes. It had been a long time since he had seen another Japanese face, and thus, it was a bit jarring for Kaibara to have one right in front of him.

"_Boy," _Kaibara said in Japanese. "_What is your name? Where are your parents?"_

The boy continued to say nothing, however, as he stared into Kaibara's eyes.

"Geez, that plane crashed four days ago," Norester continued. "Has he been wandering around in the jungle by himself this whole time? He's a tough kid, I'll give him that."

"_Boy," _Kaibara repeated. "_Can you understand me? What is your name?"_

The child sniffled again, his tears slowing down. Kaibara couldn't put his finger on it, but something about the look in the boy's eyes resonated with him.

"Was I wrong?" Norester said. "Maybe he isn't Japanese after all."

"No," Kaibara said, standing back up. "He is. Trust me; he understands what I'm saying. And you're probably right about him being from that plane crash. It's the only thing that makes sense."

"Then why won't he say anything?" Escovado grumbled.

"Moron, he's probably in shock or something," Norester said. "Especially if his parents were on the plane with him…and they didn't make it…."

Kaibara shook his head as the child wiped the tears off his face. He suspected that Norester was right about the boy being an orphan now. It was a feeling that he could relate to in many ways.

"I bet I could get him to talk," Escovado sneered as he pulled out his gun. The child on the ground crouched down again and squeezed his eyes shut as Escovado advanced toward him. Escovado had barely started to aim his gun, however, when he felt the muzzle of a Colt Anaconda Magnum pressed up against his temple.

"Point your weapon at that child again, and you will have me to deal with," Kaibara said in a low venomous voice.

Escovado let out a squeak and backed away while putting his gun back in its holster. He hated the idea of backing down, but he also knew about the consequences that would result from daring to cross Shin Kaibara. He then grunted before he and Sanchez shuffled away.

"Those idiots," Norester said. "If we weren't so desperate for men, I would have made sure that they were kicked out a long time ago."

Kaibara put his gun away and knelt down next to the boy. The child had opened his eyes and stopped crying by this point. Kaibara noticed the way that the boy was holding his arm and reached over to move the child's hand away. The boy flinched and backed away slightly.

"_It's all right," _Kaibara said, switching back to Japanese. "_I'm not going to hurt you."_

The boy nodded and Kaibara moved his hand to see a long cut on the child's arm.

"He's been hurt," he told Norester. "And he probably hasn't eaten or slept much for days."

"Right," Norester said. "Hey, I know the area where Jose said the plane crashed. I'm going to head over there and see if there is anything left. The looters have probably picked the plane clean, but there's still a chance that I could at least find a change of clothes for the kid if any of the luggage is still intact. He can't stay in those rags. You take care of him until I get back."

"Wait a minute," Kaibara said. "Why don't I go and you take care of him? I know the area better than you do, and you're the one who has experience taking care of children."

"Yes, but you're the only one who can communicate with him," Norester said with a grin. "I'll be back later."

Kaibara let out a sigh as he watched Norester run off into the jungle. He then looked down at the child and stood back up.

"_Come on," _he told the boy. "_Let's take care of your arm."_

* * *

A few minutes later, the boy sat on the floor in one of the huts with a bandage on his arm and a tee shirt that went down to his knees acting as his attire. Kaibara discovered that the wound was superficial and had cleaned and bandaged it with little difficulty. He then took him to a nearby pond so the boy could get out of his filthy clothes and get cleaned up. After that, Kaibara went to find something for him to eat.

Kaibara looked through the camp's provisions and settled on some rice along with a couple bananas. He decided to make some rice porridge, figuring that it would be familiar to the boy and would be a good choice given that he probably hadn't eaten for a while and thus could be getting sick.

As he made the food, the boy sat on the floor of the hut and watched Kaibara wordlessly. Once in a while, Kaibara glanced over at him and tried to smile and was surprised when eventually the boy started to smile back at him. Once the food was done, Kaibara scooped some into a small bowl and put some sliced banana on top before serving it to the boy.

"_Go ahead and eat," _Kaibara told him as he handed him the bowl and a spoon. "_I'm sure that you're hungry."_

The boy stared at the food for a moment before finally scooping some up and shoving it in his mouth. He then started to stuff spoonful after spoonful into his mouth as fast as he could. At first he picked at the bananas, but after trying one, he looked up at Kaibara with a giant grin on his face.

Kaibara laughed at the sight and served himself some porridge and sat down across from the boy. The two of them ate in silence and Kaibara ended up giving him almost three bowls of porridge before the child finally acted like he had had enough.

"_My name is Kaibara Shin," _Kaibara told him as he sat the bowls aside. "_What is your name?"_

The boy looked down into his lap, and Kaibara frowned. He agreed with Norester that the boy was likely suffering some trauma as a result of the crash and his ordeal in the jungle and was unsure of how to get him to talk.

"_Don't be afraid," _Kaibara said. "_I know those other men tried to hurt you, but I won't let anything happen. I promise."_

The boy fidgeted and traced circles in the dirt on the floor. Kaibara scooted closer to him. Having lost his own parents in a sudden and violent way, he couldn't help but sympathize with the boy.

"_I understand," _he said. "_You want your mom and dad, and you don't know why they aren't here to take care of you. You miss them. And now you're stuck with a bunch of people who look strange to you and who you can't understand. It's scary."_

The boy looked up at him, and Kaibara smiled again.

"_It's all right," _Kaibara said. "_You don't have to say anything right now. When you're ready to talk, I'll listen. For now, just do what you're told and things will be fine."_

The boy nodded with a thoughtful expression on his face before letting out a yawn. Kaibara stood up and waved his hand toward a cot at the corner of the room.

"_Go ahead and lie down," _Kaibara said. "_You probably could use some sleep."_

The boy nodded again and got up off the floor. He hopped up onto the cot and laid down. Kaibara draped the blanket over him. He was about to walk out of the hut, when a sound from the cot stopped him. Kaibara looked back to see the boy sitting up, his eyes wide with fear. Kaibara let out a sigh and walked over to sit down on a chair next to him.

"_Don't worry," _he told the child. "_I'll stay here until you go to sleep. Now, lie down."_

The boy stared at him again for a minute, his eyes communicating his gratitude, before lying back down and closing his eyes. Seconds later, his breathing became slow and regular, and Kaibara knew that he had fallen asleep.

Kaibara leaned back in his chair and watched him slumber. He knew that something would have to be done with the boy, but was unsure of what that something should be. He thought briefly about finding a way to take him to one of the bigger cities so that someone could get a hold of the Japanese government and explain the situation, but Kaibara quickly cast the idea aside.

'_That plane probably went down because of the recklessness of the military,' _Kaibara thought to himself. '_Knowing how this government works, they'll do everything they can to cover it up…including making sure that there are no witnesses who could dispute their version of events.'_

Kaibara frowned again and reached over to tuck the blanket around the boy's shoulders. He knew that taking the child to an orphanage was out of the question since the child would not be able to talk to any of the people there and would probably receive questionable levels of care. It was then that Kaibara realized with more than a little reluctance that the best option for the moment was for the child to stay with him.

The boy stirred and snuggled under the blankets, burying his face into his pillow. Kaibara thought again about how this child had managed to not only survive the plane crash, but being alone in the wilderness for days. Normally, he did not put too much stock in the concept of fate, but it was hard to deny that fate did seem to play a hand into leading this boy to him.

'_He was meant to survive,' _Kaibara mused. '_And I'm going to make sure that he will continue to have the best chance to do so.'_

* * *

A couple hours later, Norester showed back up in the village, and he walked into the hut Kaibara was in with a cloth sack in his hands. Kaibara yawned and stretched in his chair as Norester walked in, and he looked toward the cot to see that the boy had still not woken up.

"We're in luck," Norester grinned. "I managed to find some stuff in a suitcase that had been tossed aside in the wreckage. I'm thinking this stuff will probably fit him. Hell, for all we know, these were probably his clothes in the first place."

Norester moved closer to Kaibara and nodded toward the cot.

"Has he said anything yet?" he asked.

"Not a word," Kaibara replied. "I think he is still trying to figure out if he can trust us."

"I suppose that makes sense," Norester said. "Especially given what happened to him when he showed up here. Anyway, let's get him changed into some of this stuff."

Kaibara nodded and put his hand on the boy's shoulder and shook him lightly. The boy opened his eyes with a start, and cowered under the blanket for a moment before blinking his eyes several times and calming down.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty awakes," Norester grinned. He handed some clothes to Kaibara, who then held them out to the child.

"_Put these on," _Kaibara told him.

The boy nodded and grabbed the clothes. A minute later, he had changed out of the tee shirt and into a dark green shirt with a pair of jeans and some grey socks and shoes.

"Perfect," Norester said. "These must have been his. And from the look of it, I'd say that his parents had money. All the stuff I could find for him looked like high quality clothes."

"Not that that money is doing him much good right now," Kaibara sighed.

"Have you figured out what we should do with him?" Norester said. "You think maybe we should hand him off to one of the orphanages?"

"No," Kaibara replied. "I'm not leaving him there to get ignored and tossed aside just because he is Japanese."

"You really think he'd get treated that badly?" Norester asked.

"Trust me," Kaibara replied. "A Japanese child who doesn't speak the language living with native children in an environment like that…. ."

Kaibara stopped and put his hand on the top of the boy's head and gently tousled his hair. Norester was surprised not only at Kaibara's gesture, but at how the boy grinned in response.

"He's already suffered enough," Kaibara said. "I'm not going to add to his suffering by leaving him alone in a strange land that is usually not welcoming to people who are different."

Norester nodded his head, but did not respond. He had long suspected that Kaibara's life had not been an easy one while living in Central America, and statements like this confirmed his suspicions. He gulped, however, as he realized what Kaibara was implying.

"Wait…are you saying that you're going to keep him here?" Norester asked.

"Yes," Kaibara said, staring into the boy's eyes. "You said it yourself; I'm the only one who can communicate with him, so for now, I will have to be responsible for him. Do you honestly think that you're going to find another Japanese person living anywhere near here?"

"I suppose not," Norester said. "Ah hell, I wasn't much older than him when I started to train for this business. We could train him."

"We?" Kaibara said, giving Norester a quizzical look.

"Sure," Norester said. "Granted, you're going to have to teach him some English or Spanish so I can talk to him, but I'm not going to leave him alone either. And besides, we're partners, right? With the two of us training him, he'll be one of the best soldiers in this entire country."

Kaibara chuckled and nodded in response. He then watched as Norester ruffled the boy's hair even harder with the child giggling in response.

"That's some smile you've got there, kid," Norester laughed back. "I bet you're going to grow up to be a handsome devil. The ladies aren't going to be able to resist that smile."

Another man, Torrez, walked into the hut, and Kaibara and Norester looked over at him.

"Galvez wants you two to meet him to go over our mission assignments," Torrez said. "And to see if you have any ideas about what to do about that new outpost we found at the edge of that village."

"We'll be there in a minute," Norester said. Torrez nodded and walked away. Norester then nodded at Kaibara, who turned back toward the boy.

"_Stay here," _he told him. "_We'll be back later." _

Kaibara stood, and he and Norester started to leave, but the boy immediately jumped off the cot and ran over to follow them. Kaibara opened his mouth to order him to stay again when the child grabbed his leg and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"I can tell you right now, it's never that easy when you're dealing with kids," Norester sighed with a wan smile.

"I suppose Galvez will have to find out about this sooner or later," Kaibara frowned. "We might as well get this over with."

Kaibara reached down and scooped the boy up into his arms. He continued to frown in irritation, but soon found it impossible to stay upset in the face of another wide grin from the boy. Kaibara let out a sigh, and smiled back before he and Norester marched over to meet with their commanding officer.

* * *

About three hours later, the sun was sitting and Kaibara, Norester, and the boy were sitting next to a fire, eating bowls of stew. Kaibara had worried that the boy might not take to the unfamiliar food, but was relieved to discover that the child seemed to be far from a picky eater.

Earlier, Galvez did nothing to hide the shock on his face at the sight of Kaibara carrying a child on his back into his hut. After listening silently as Kaibara and Norester explained the situation, Galvez let out a sigh and waved his hands.

"If this is what you want to do, I'm not going to stop you," he told them. "But that child is going to be _your_ responsibility, you got that? You two are going to be the ones to take care of him. I'm not going to ask the rest of my men to help you babysit him….and you better make sure that he does not become a liability or else…."

Both Norester and Kaibara agreed to Galvez's terms before turning their attention to the matters at hand. Once they worked out the details of the latest troop assignments, Kaibara and Norester went off to find something to eat for supper.

"The kid eats like a horse," Norester said as he served the boy another helping of stew. "I can only imagine how much energy he's going to build up."

"He's going to need it for his training," Kaibara nodded. "So it's probably a good thing."

After finishing his second helping, the boy sat quietly and watched Kaibara and Norester eat and converse about their latest mission plans. An hour later, they looked down to see the boy stare at the fire with half-opened eyes.

"We should probably get to bed too," Norester nodded. "We need to get up early tomorrow if we're going to get anything done. You go ahead and stay here with him. I'll go find some extra blankets and stuff so we can make a bed for him."

"Sure," Kaibara said. Norester got up and walked away, and Kaibara leaned toward the fire, studying the flames. He began to think about the activities he and Norester had to do tomorrow, and he pondered how having a child around at all times could become problematic.

'_Same as always,' _he mused. '_Life adds some new ingredient to make everything else even more complicated. Still, no use in brooding too much over it. Norester and I will just have to find a way to adjust.'_

Kaibara was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice it when the boy moved closer to him and put a hand on his knee.

"_I'm Ryo."_

Kaibara nearly jumped at the soft, tiny voice that broke his reverie, and he looked down to see the boy pointing at his nose with a shy smile on his face.

"_I'm Ryo_," he repeated. Kaibara smiled back at him.

"_That's your name?_" he asked. "_Ryo?_" The boy nodded and continued to smile.

"_A good name. But what about your other name? Your family name?" _Kaibara asked him.

"_Family name?" _Ryo said. "_I…I don't know…."_

"_What are your parents' names?" _Kaibara said.

"_Mama and Papa," _Ryo answered. Kaibara let out a sigh as he realized that he wasn't getting anywhere with this line of questions. He was reluctant to ask this next question, but he knew that it would have to come up at some point.

"_Ryo…where are your parents now?" _he asked him. Ryo's smile disappeared and he looked down into his lap.

"_Mama and Papa are sleeping," _Ryo said. "_And they won't wake up…I yelled, but they won't wake up."_

"_I see," _Kaibara said. He was now certain that Ryo's parents had perished in the crash and suddenly felt a surge of sympathetic regret for the child.

"_They…they aren't coming back?" _Ryo sniffled.

"_I'm sorry, Ryo," _Kaibara said gently as he put a hand on his shoulder. "_But no, they aren't coming back."_

"_Are you going away?" _Ryo nearly whispered.

"_No," _Kaibara assured him. "_No, I won't leave. I promise. In fact, you'll be staying with me and my friend from now on. We're going to help you learn to live here."_

"_Your friend is funny," _Ryo said with a giggle.

"_He can be," _Kaibara smirked at him. "_But he's smart and strong too. You can trust him. His name is Norester Stephen."_

"_You are Kaibara Shin," _Ryo said, pointing at him.

"_That's right," _Kaibara nodded. "_Very good…You can call him Norester and you can call me Kaibara….But Ryo, you need another name. You can't just be Ryo."_

"_Another name?" _Ryo said, tilting his head.

Kaibara nodded and started to think silently about a variety of names he had heard over the years. He suddenly remembered his karate teacher from when he was still living in Japan, and Kaibara contemplated how his instructor was one of the few people he had met in his life who he had truly respected.

'_Why not?' _Kaibara thought to himself. '_It will be a good omen for him to have the same name as someone as strong and wise as sensei was.' _He then looked back down into Ryo's eyes.

"_Ryo, from now on, your name will be Saeba Ryo," _Kaibara told him. "_Do you understand?"_

"_Saeba Ryo," _Ryo repeated hesitantly.

"_That's right," _Kaibara nodded. "_Your name is Saeba Ryo. Don't ever forget that."_


	4. The Acceptance-part one

Author's Note: Next chapter. I know they are flying out fast right now, but this will probably be the last one for a bit. In the meantime, I plan on updating some of my other projects. I promise. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this...Well no matter what, it is always appreciated. :)

-_Additional Notes:_

_-Oyaji:_ an informal way to refer to one's own father...and a slightly rude way to actually address your own father in Japanese, but I do think this really fits given Ryo's character and what little we see of Kaibara's in the manga. :)

Chapter Four—The Acceptance—part one

Several months later, Kaibara and Norester were in a jeep heading toward a rendezvous site to meet up with their troop, and Ryo was sitting between them.

* * *

After letting Ryo spend about a week recovering from his crash and the days lost in the jungle, Kaibara and Norester began to train him. At first, they mainly focused on Ryo's general physical condition. They had him run laps around the village, do exercises to increase his strength, and had him perform calisthenics to increase his flexibility. To both Kaibara's and Norester's relief, Ryo took to the regimen well and without much complaint. His seemingly boundless energy gave him the needed stamina and his fortitude was usually enough to help Ryo push himself through whatever challenges they could come up with.

When they weren't training him physically, Kaibara took the time to teach Ryo to speak Spanish, while still making sure to advance his understanding of Japanese. He also did his best to teach Ryo to read and write in both Spanish and Japanese, with one of the first things he did being teaching Ryo how to write his own name in kanji and in roman letters.

"If he's going to be the best soldier, he needs to know how to think and learn as well as fight and kill," Kaibara said more than once. "His mind needs to be as sharp as any of his combat skills."

"And teaching him even more Japanese?" Norester asked him. "How will that help him in a place like this?"

"No matter what his life is like now, he is still Japanese," Kaibara said. "I'm not taking that away from him."

Initially, Norester had his doubts about Kaibara's ambitions for Ryo's intellectual development, but to his surprise, Ryo actually seemed to thrive and excel under Kaibara's instruction. After three months, Ryo was able to have basic conversations in Spanish and was already beginning to read children's books.

'_The kid must be like Kaibara, some kind of genius,' _Norester pondered to himself at one point. '_I suppose the best thing for me to do is stay out of their way.'_

Norester eventually decided instead to put most of his energy into beginning to teach Ryo how to defend himself with simple handmade traps and by learning ways to evade and hide from the enemy.

"You're too small to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy for now and you're not quite ready to learn to use a gun," he would tell Ryo. "So the next best thing is to be more prepared than them. The key is to always look for a way to act because there is always something you can do, no matter what their size or numbers are."

* * *

Norester looked down at Ryo and noticed that he had fallen asleep. He smiled to himself as he thought about these last few months he had spent helping Kaibara take care of Ryo. Throughout all the training, exercises, and instruction, Ryo had not lost his smile, his budding mischievousness, or his playful energy. There were many days when Norester had to admit that it was Ryo's smile and the sound of his laughter that helped him get through the grind of another day spent fighting and struggling to survive. He considered it even more remarkable when he thought about how Ryo had recently been left without parents, without a home to return to and without any memory of basic things like his birthday or his last name.

'_The fact that he can still smile, that he can still laugh and still be a kid to some extent after everything he's been through and in the face of a war raging around him…that's proof enough that he's probably the toughest one of all of us,' _Norester mused silently.

He then reached down and pulled Ryo's jacket, which was slightly too big for him, closer around his frame. As Kaibara had predicted, both he and Norester had had to find ways to accommodate having Ryo around them at all times. Whenever they could, one of them would try to stay behind at the village with Ryo while the other went to fight, although Norester couldn't help but notice that Ryo seemed to favor staying with Kaibara if it was between the two of them.

'_It makes sense,' _Norester thought to himself. '_After all, Kaibara is Japanese like him, and Kaibara is the one making sure that he can learn to talk to the rest of us. It's logical that he would want to spend more time around him.'_

Norester smirked as he cast a glance at Kaibara, who was sitting in the passenger seat with his arms crossed over his chest and a thoughtful look on his face. He knew that Kaibara was loathe to admit it, but it was clear to Norester that he had also fallen under the spell of Ryo's charm. It showed in many small ways from the careful eye that Kaibara kept on him at all times, the smile on his face while he watched Ryo play during their rare leisure times, and the fact that he allowed Ryo to sleep next to him as a way to fend off his anxieties about the jungle at night and his nightmares.

'_It's like he doesn't even realize that he's turning into a father,' _Norester sniggered to himself. '_But you're not fooling me, Kaibara. And I know because I see it all the time in me when I'm around Mary….'_

Norester patted Ryo's head a couple times while keeping one hand on the wheel. Occasionally, a mission would come along that required both his and Kaibara's presence, and thus, they had little choice but to take Ryo along with them. Norester was always a little apprehensive about it, however, and he suspected that Kaibara was too, even if he didn't say it out loud.

So far though, they had managed with little in the way of complications. At first, Ryo had been jittery and would freeze when the battles started, but Kaibara and Norester soon discovered that behind his smiles and giggles was a strong, fighting spirit that eventually enabled him to keep his nerve even as gunfire and explosions surrounded him. Thus, Ryo was often able and eager to support them however he could while still making sure to keep himself hidden from the enemy's line of sight.

The sound of a yawn got Norester's attention, and he looked over to see Ryo rubbing his eyes.

"_Where are we?" _Ryo asked with another yawn. "_Are we almost there?"_

"_Ryo," _Kaibara said, his voice stern. "_I know that I've told you more than once to speak Spanish when we are not by ourselves."_

"_Sorry," _Ryo replied. He then turned toward Norester and put a smile on his face.

"Sorry," he repeated in Spanish. Norester grinned and slapped Ryo's shoulder.

"It's ok, Ryo," he said. "Don't worry about it."

"To answer your question, we are thirty miles west of our village" Kaibara added. "And we will reach our destination in a couple of minutes at this rate." Ryo nodded and bowed his head as he leaned back in his seat and stared at the sky.

Kaibara continued to frown, and Norester couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. He knew that Kaibara had probably scolded Ryo again for lapsing into Japanese around him, but he never took it personally. He always figured that it simply came naturally to Ryo partially because it was his native language and partially because he continued to bond with Kaibara.

'_Still, I bet Kaibara has no idea how much he even sounds like a parent when he does stuff like that,' _he chortled to himself.

"We're here," Kaibara said as they pulled up to a clearing in the jungle. Norester parked his jeep, and the three of them got out to walk the rest of the way. Soon, they arrived at a large field with a battered warehouse, a couple of small planes sitting near it and a dirt landing strip at the edge of the area. Ryo gulped loudly at the sight, but made no other sound. They continued to walk toward the warehouse and were soon met with a group of men from both their own troop and from another guerrilla group within the resistance as well.

"Ah good, you're here," a man named Ramierez said as he walked up to meet them. Ramierez was the leader of this other guerrilla group and had been the one to propose joining forces with Norester and Kaibara's troop as a way to mount a more decisive attack against a military base about twenty miles from where they currently were.

"I understand that Mister Norester here is a good pilot," Ramierez said. "I would like him and one of my men to each fly one of our planes so as to lend us some air support. The rest of us will go in our tanks and jeeps."

"Sounds good," Norester said. "You got a plane ready for me?"

"My men are preparing them now," Ramierez said. "They should be ready in about fifteen minutes. Feel free to take whoever you want with you for your co-pilot."

Ramierez then walked off and started to converse with his own men while Norester looked over at Kaibara.

"I can handle the flying," he said. "You think you can handle the other stuff?"

"Is that a question?" Kaibara smirked at him. "Or is it another one of your attempts at humor?"

"Hey, life's too short to be serious all the time," Norester grinned back. "We can't all be like you."

One of the planes suddenly roared to life, the propellers starting to spin, and Kaibara and Norester turned to watch a couple of men checking it over.

"Well at least these planes look sturdier than the last ones I flew," Norester said, raising his voice slightly. "After what I went through last time, this is a welcome change. I can't tell you how much I….my God, Ryo, what's wrong?"

Kaibara immediately looked down to see that Ryo's eyes were dilated and that he was beginning to hyperventilate. He reached down to take Ryo by the arm and was shocked when Ryo began to scream.

"_No! No! I don't want to go!" _Ryo yelled. "_Don't make me go again…."_

"Hey, hey Ryo, calm down," Norester said, clasping his shoulder. "What's the matter?"

Ryo squeezed his eyes shut and yanked himself away from Kaibara and Norester before collapsing to the ground. Once there, he curled up into a fetal position and continued to gasp for breath while tears rolled down his cheeks.

"_I don't want to go," _he repeated. "_Please…please help me…don't go. Don't make me go…."_

Norester stood still, his mouth hanging open in shock over Ryo's extreme reaction with Kaibara also frozen with indecision.

That indecision only lasted for a moment, however, and soon, Kaibara yanked off his jacket and knelt down beside Ryo so he could cover him with it. Once he was completely wrapped up, Kaibara carefully lifted Ryo from the ground and cradled him close to his chest. He then rushed away from the field back toward the jeep with Norester trailing behind him. Kaibara did not slow down in his pace until he got back to the jeep and got in. Once there, he started to stroke Ryo's back.

"_It's all right," _Kaibara assured him. "_You don't have to go. I promise. Now, calm down."_

"_Don't leave me," _Ryo begged between his tears as he grabbed Kaibara's shirt. "_Please don't go… please stay, oyaji."_

Kaibara was startled by Ryo's choice of words, but chose to put that aside for now so he could continue to concentrate on getting Ryo to stop crying.

"_I'm not going to leave you," _Kaibara said, patting his back. _"Now, relax and breathe."_

By this point, Norester was standing next to the jeep and was watching Kaibara hold Ryo, who was still completely hidden underneath Kaibara's jacket.

"Jesus, what just happened?" Norester asked. "I've never seen him act like that before. Not even on the battlefield."

"He can't fly," Kaibara said. "I think that is clear."

As soon as those words were spoken, Norester's eyes lit up with understanding, and he and Kaibara shared a knowing look.

"You should take Dopazo with you," Kaibara continued. "He's the best man we have here."

"Yeah, I'll do that," Norester replied. "You just make sure to do your part here on the ground."

"You know that I will," Kaibara smirked at him. "I just hope that Dopazo can put up with you for a whole mission."

Norester chuckled and then reached over to rub the top of Ryo's head, his expression becoming somber again.

"Ryo, it's ok now," he said. "Everything is going to be fine. Geez, don't cry, kid."

Ryo lifted his head out from under the jacket and sniffed hard. His tears had finally started to stop and while his eyes were still red and watery, they were no longer wide with fear.

"That's better," Norester said, attempting to smile. "You stay with Kaibara and we'll all meet up again in a few hours. You'll see."

A hint of a smile appeared on Ryo's face as he nodded, and Norester let out a sigh of relief. Despite his young age and the horrendous situation he was in, Ryo rarely cried, but whenever he did, Norester and Kaibara would immediately search for a way to stop his tears. Neither one of them said it aloud, but the both of them knew how much each of them hated to see him cry or be in any sort of true distress.

"I'm going to go check on the plane," Norester said. "You want me to brief the rest the guys on what they should be doing?"

"That would be best, yes," Kaibara said. "Ryo and I will go on ahead toward our target. If things go badly, we'll meet up with everyone at the usual place."

Norester nodded and patted Ryo's shoulder one last time before running off. Once he was gone, Kaibara shifted Ryo out of his arms and sat him in the passenger seat.

"_Are you ready?" _Kaibara asked him. "_We're going now."_

* * *

A half hour later, neither Kaibara nor Ryo had said another word. Ryo continued to hide under Kaibara's jacket, his eyes firmly fixed on the floor. Kaibara kept his eyes on the road and went over the mission plans and the best tactics to use several times in his mind.

Eventually though, Kaibara took a deep breath and admitted to himself that he was over-thinking this as a way to avoid contemplating what was really bothering him.

When Norester stopped talking to stare at Ryo and when he looked down himself to see the child's reaction to the planes, Kaibara had felt his heart shift from mild concern to panic in a matter of seconds. Like Norester, he had never seen Ryo as petrified as he was in that moment and his first instinct had been to get Ryo as far away from the source of his terror as possible.

Kaibara frowned as he thought about how his concern for Ryo had actually hijacked his normal battle instincts. Ever since he had begun to train himself to fight as a child, Kaibara had always put his own survival first, and once he became a mercenary and then a guerrilla, his thoughts were directed toward the battle at hand. Defend his comrades, defeat the enemy, fight to survive…those were the imperatives that ruled his thoughts and his actions.

But in that moment, his only imperative had been Ryo. Nothing else, not his mission, not his comrades, not even his own objectives and safety, had mattered.

'_What is wrong with me?' _he asked himself. '_I have never let my mind get clouded that way before. A sure way to lose to the enemy and get yourself killed is to let your emotions control you.'_

'_And yet….'_

Kaibara glanced over at Ryo and his expression softened. Watching Ryo quietly study the floorboards, Kaibara knew that it was useless to hold any sort of grudge or resentment toward him for either his actions earlier or for the feelings he managed to generate in his heart. The fact was, over the last several months, Kaibara had moved on from just seeing Ryo as a responsibility or a student to train and had become very fond of him. Kaibara had tried several times to deny this attachment, seeing as a potential weakness, but eventually he accepted that a bond had formed that he couldn't ignore and that he simply did not want to break.

Still, Kaibara had been convinced that he could conceal it and keep these feelings to himself. He was certain that it was better for Ryo to not become overly attached to him in return given the environment they lived in. Thus, he decided to be attentive in watching over and taking care of Ryo, but did his best to not be too affectionate.

The problem, however, was that Kaibara had begun to suspect that Ryo had become attached to him anyway. The fact that he had actually called him "_oyaji"_ a little while ago had confirmed Kaibara's suspicions. That one word though was the source of a whole other batch of concerns and questions.

'_Does Ryo actually consider me his father now?' _he wondered. '_Should I allow him to think things like that?'_

'_Do I even want that responsibility?'_

Kaibara's eyes went back to focusing on his surroundings while his hands gripped the wheel. For a brief moment, he thought again of Leticia and how she had told him that he would be a good father. At the time, Kaibara had thought that it was just a wistful thought of the future, and after the death of his parents and his years spent as a mercenary, he had completely dismissed the idea as impossible. He could never be a father, not in his line of work, not with the lifestyle he had. It was out of the question.

Yet, all of that reasoning was not enough to erase the warm stirring he felt in his heart when he heard Ryo call him _oyaji_. For a long time, he couldn't truly relate to Norester's devotion to his family or understand the joy Norester felt whenever he thought about his daughter. But when he heard Ryo say that to him, Kaibara was certain that that joy that devotion must feel a lot like what he had just experienced.

'_Honestly, it's an amazing feeling, being a father…'_

'_There's nothing else like it…'_

Right now, Kaibara had to admit that Norester was right. It had been years since he had felt any sort of happiness that could compare to what he now had inside him.

'_How did this happen?' _Kaibara asked himself. '_How is this child able to have this effect on me?'_

"_I'm sorry."_

Kaibara's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Ryo's voice, and he looked over to see the boy staring at him, his expression contrite.

"_I'm sorry," _Ryo repeated. "_I'm sorry for what I did. It's my fault that you couldn't go with Norester."_

Kaibara knew that within minutes, they would be heading off into battle, and he did not want to have this weighing on either of their minds. He pulled the jeep over and turned to face Ryo.

"_No, this time it was my fault," _Kaibara replied. "_I knew what had happened to you before, and yet I didn't even think about how you might feel about flying again."_

"_Aren't you mad at me?" _Ryo asked. Kaibara felt a twinge of regret at the apprehension and sadness evident in his voice.

"_No, of course not," _Kaibara replied. "_I already said that this was my fault. What makes you think that I should be mad at you?"_

"_You said that we have to be strong in battle," _Ryo replied. "_And yet I…."_

"_That is true. You do need to be strong," _Kaibara interrupted. "_But that does not mean that you won't ever be afraid. Fear is natural."_

Kaibara reached down and put his hands on Ryo's shoulders.

"_I know that this wound, the one you got when you ended up here, is still too fresh, too painful," _Kaibara continued. _ "You are not ready to deal with it or to begin to conquer it. For now, the important thing is not to banish all of your fears. It's for you to learn to act in spite of them. I know, for example, that you still carry some fear during the battles we face constantly. Again, this is to be expected. It would be very stupid of you to not be afraid for your life in those situations. What you must learn to do is to push past that fear, to do what you must in order to survive and defeat your opponents. That is what you should focus your energies on."_

Kaibara let go of Ryo and started up the jeep again. He then pulled back onto the road and sped toward their destination.

"_Do not think you will have to learn to do this on your own," _Kaibara added. "_That is one of the reasons why Norester and I are training you, so that you will get the instruction you need to help you overcome your fear. Do you understand?"_

"_Yes," _Ryo nodded sheepishly.

"_Good," _Kaibara replied_. "Now prepare yourself. We will be entering enemy territory in a couple of minutes. I will need you to stay out of sight and make sure to keep me supplied with ammunition during this fight. Will you do that?" _

"_I will," _Ryo said, his voice resolute. "_I won't fail." _Kaibara noted the determined expression on Ryo's face and smiled in response.

"_No, you won't Ryo," _he said. "_I am certain of that."_


	5. The Acceptance-part two

Author's Note: Next chapter. This one is going to be kind of a long one. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following this one. It is always appreciated. :)

-_Additional Note:_

_-Musuko:_ a way to address or refer to one's own son in Japanese.

Chapter Five—The Acceptance—part two

A couple of hours later, Kaibara was creeping up on an outpost, his rifle in hand and Ryo close behind him.

After hiding his jeep on the outskirts of the area, he and Ryo had quietly made their way through the jungle. They encountered a couple of soldiers who were on patrol, but Kaibara swiftly and quietly disarmed both of them and rendered them unconscious so as to not alert anyone else of their presence. Soon, he could see the base in the distance, and he swung his rifle toward his chest as he prepared to fight. He then looked down at Ryo who was crouching beside him.

"_Stay close to me," _Kaibara told him. "_Once I find a good place for you to position yourself, make sure to stay there until I come for you."_

"_I understand," _Ryo nodded.

Kaibara turned his attention toward the outpost and took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second and clearing his mind. He then re-opened his eyes and rushed toward the outpost, while still making sure that the sound of Ryo's footfalls was never far away from him.

Kaibara fired one round after another as soldiers ran toward him, startled by his sudden appearance. Soon, Kaibara saw others from his troop run into the outpost from a variety of directions with a pair of tanks crashing through the main gates. The men at the outpost scrambled toward their jeeps and tanks, but were immediately met with a rain of bullets from men emerging from the jungle.

Eventually, Kaibara ran for cover at the side of a building on the edge of the outpost. He looked inside to see a row of beds facing a wall, and he deduced that it was one of the sleeping quarters for the troops. Once he had determined that the place was deserted, Kaibara crouched down beside Ryo and began to pull another cartridge of bullets out of one of the pockets of Ryo's jacket.

"_I want you to hide in this brush along this building," _Kaibara told him. "_If you hear any tanks or planes approaching, run for cover in the jungle. Otherwise, stay here and keep out of sight." _

"_Yes," _Ryo said. He then ran into the bushes, and Kaibara watched branches move about for a few seconds before they became still again. Satisfied that Ryo was sufficiently hidden, he ran back into the fray.

As he rushed out into the open, more soldiers charged toward him, and Kaibara shot them down swiftly while dodging their attack. His senses then detected a more distant opponent and he looked upward to see a sniper preparing to fire from a lookout tower nearby. Kaibara slung his rifle to his side and pulled out his gun from his holster while crouching near a pile of wooden crates. He focused his aim for a moment before firing, and the sniper promptly dropped to the ground, a bullet between the eyes.

Kaibara then looked to see a pair of men running toward him, one of whom had a grenade launcher in his hands. He was about to take aim when the sound of a plane above caused all of them to look up. Seconds later, they saw something falling to the ground, and Kaibara immediately ran away, having guessed what it was. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later when a grenade landed at the men's feet and exploded.

From a short distance away, Kaibara looked back up and could make out someone waving at him from the plane before it dived elsewhere.

'_Don't you think you cut it a little close this time, Norester?' _Kaibara smirked. '_I think you need another lesson in punctuality….'_

Kaibara put his gun back in his holster, a grin still on his face, as he re-joined the battle.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ryo continued to watch the battle rage around him from his hiding place. He wished that he knew where Kaibara was, but he was still confident that Kaibara would be back before long.

'_Him and Norester…they're the strongest people in the whole village.' _Ryo told himself. '_No one can beat them.'_

Another grenade went off in the distance, and Ryo ducked down, putting his arms over his head. Despite what Kaibara had told him, he still felt bad about what had happened earlier.

'_I wish I was as strong as them,' _he thought. '_They're not afraid of anything.'_

Ryo moved his arms off his head and went back to watching for any sign of Kaibara or Norester. The sound of bullets flying through the air amplified the sound the planes that was still echoing in his head, causing Ryo to shiver. By this point, he could barely remember what he had done when he saw the planes earlier that day, but he still could remember the sound. It was a sound that filled his nightmares, a sound that was accompanied by screaming, tears and pain before abruptly stopping and leaving only a lonely, empty silence in its place.

Ryo could hear someone scream something off in the distance, and it reminded him too much of the dreams that made him cry out in the night. At that moment, Ryo wished Kaibara was there with him, just like he always was whenever he woke up from those terrible dreams.

Suddenly, Ryo heard footsteps coming closer to him, and he froze in place while even trying to hold his breath. He could tell that someone was standing right next to where he was, and he was sure it wasn't Kaibara. Ryo carefully reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife that Norester had given him and hid it behind his back. He then tried to move closer to the edge of the bushes to get a better look at the person standing there when he felt a hand grab at him. Ryo gasped and scrambled to get away, but was yanked out into the open.

"So, it's you."

Ryo blinked and looked up to see that it was Escovado who had a hold of him. While he was relieved that it wasn't an enemy soldier who had found him, Ryo was not happy to see him. He still remembered how Escovado had treated him on the day he showed up at the village, and Ryo had noticed how coldly he had treated him ever since. Escovado frowned, but did not loosen his grip on Ryo's arm.

"Let me go," Ryo said. As soon as he said that, however, Escovado's expression changed from a frown to a grin even while his eyes glowed with anger.

"Let you go?" Escovado sneered. "Who do you think you are, giving me orders?" Escovado then struck Ryo across the face, causing Ryo's lip to bleed. He then grabbed Ryo by the hair and shook him.

"Not so tough now, are you, Saeba?" he chortled. "Now that you don't have Kaibara or Norester around to protect you? You've had this coming for a long time….but hey, maybe if you beg; I'll go easy on you."

Ryo felt tears fill his eyes from fear of the look of rage in Escovado's eyes and from the pain he felt while being yanked around and struck. Escovado laughed at the sight.

"What are you going to do now? Cry?" he said. "Just like you did earlier, when you were squealing like a baby at those planes?"

Soon, however, another feeling surged inside Ryo, and he held his tears back while narrowing his eyes. Ryo then squeezed his fingers around the knife that was still in his hand and brought it up to slash at Escovado's wrist. Escovado screamed in pain and let go of Ryo as the blade carved a long, shallow cut in his skin.

"You little bastard," Escovado yelled at him, striking him again. Ryo fell to the ground, stunned by the blow, and dropped the knife he was holding. Escovado then grabbed Ryo with both hands and lifted him off the ground. Ryo tried slipping out of his jacket so he could get away, and had almost escaped, but Escovado managed to yank the jacket the rest of the way off and get a firmer hold on Ryo's body. Ryo struggled as hard as he could, but was not able to free himself.

"You think you are one of us, but you are nothing," Escovado said as he carried Ryo. "You're a parasite, a pest. You should have died on that plane with everyone else. And now I'm going to correct that mistake."

Escovado moved to the entrance of the shack next to them and pulled the door open. He then threw Ryo inside against a wall and laughed as he watched Ryo slump to the ground.

"You're going to be just another causality of this battle," Escovado said. He then pulled a lighter out of his pocket and flicked the switch. A flame soon danced on the end of the wick, and Ryo's eyes widened at the sight.

"You get it now, don't you?" Escovado smirked. "You're scared, aren't you? Good. You should be. I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying that look on your face."

Escovado backed out of the doorway and slammed the door shut. Ryo ran over to the door and tried to turn the handle, but he had been jammed from the outside. He pounded his fists against the wood, but it would not budge. The smell of smoke suddenly tickled at his nose, and Ryo could feel the wall in front of him growing hotter. Soon, wisps of flame curled into the room. Ryo jumped away and yelled for help.

"Scream all you want, Saeba. No one is going to hear you," Escovado yelled from outside. "I just wish that bastard, Kaibara, could see like this. That he could see your last moments spent whimpering in fear."

Smoke billowed into the room, and Ryo coughed while his eyes burned. He looked for another way out, but there was only the door in front of him, which had flames enveloping it. Ryo fell down and crawled around on the floor.

'_The key is to always look for a way to act because there is always something you can do….'_

'_What you must learn to do is to push past that fear, to do what you must in order to survive…'_

Ryo could hear Norester's and Kaibara's voices inside his brain as he remembered their words, and he clung to the strength they gave him. He continued to search for a way out when he spotted something in a corner of the room.

A patch of light that was free of fire and smoke.

* * *

From the outside, Escovado watched the fire consume the shack and laughed. He hadn't heard anything from Ryo for some time, and he imagined that by now Ryo was beginning to pass out from the smoke. He glanced down at Ryo's jacket on the ground and smirked.

'_Bet you wish you never wandered into our village now,' _Escovado thought. '_Norester and Kaibara were fools to keep you around.'_

Escovado could hear things quieting down around him, and he knew that the military was retreating and the guerrilla forces had won. He watched the shack collapse, and then began to throw dirt onto the remains to smother what was left of the flames. Escovado then began to concoct a story to tell anyone who might ask him what happened moments ago.

'_A spark just happened to catch fire, and the kid just happened to be hiding there,' _he told himself. '_Just a simple accident…not uncommon in battles like this.'_

"Escovado, what are you doing?"

Escovado flinched and turned to see Norester walking up behind him. He straightened his posture and did his best to appear neutral.

"Just securing the area," Escovado said. "There's no one here, but this fire broke out and I was making sure that it was contained."

"Looks like it's just about dead," Norester said. "After you're done here, go to the edge of camp and help Dopazo secure the prisoners."

"Yes sir," Escovado said. Norester nodded as was about to walk away when he spied Ryo's jacket. He then walked over and snatched it up.

"This is Ryo's," Norester said as he held it in his hands. "Escovado, is Ryo around here? Have you seen him?"

"N—no I haven't," Escovado stuttered. Norester raised his eyebrow in response and then scanned the ground for any other sign of Ryo. He soon found a knife in the dirt, and when he picked it up, Norester recognized it as the one he had given Ryo four months ago. He could see blood on the blade, and he then looked to see that Escovado's wrist was bleeding slightly.

"Escovado…what is going on?" Norester said, anger seeping into his tone. "Where is Ryo?"

Escovado backed away and was not able to stop himself from glancing over at the smoldering ruins next to them. Norester watched Escovado's actions and his mind began to put the pieces together, his hands trembling as his anger increased.

"What…what did you do?" Norester said.

"You should be thanking me," Escovado blurted out. "That brat was just going to get someone killed anyway."

Norester rushed over toward the shack, but he could tell that any search would be futile. If Ryo had been inside, he would be dead by now. Escovado tried to sneak away, but Norester gritted his teeth, ran back toward him, and slugged him as hard as he could in the face. Escovado fell to the ground, blood streaming from a broken nose.

"He was just a kid," Norester roared. "He was one of ours."

"He was one of yours," Escovado spat back. "Yours and Kaibara's. As far as I'm concerned, he was never a part of our war, our resistance. He had no business being in our group."

Norester clenched his hands even tighter, the nails digging into the skin. He opened his mouth to say more, but stopped when he saw Kaibara walk up to them.

"What is going on?" Kaibara said. "Norester, what….?"

Kaibara's words halted as he took in the scene in front of him. He saw the burned shack, Ryo's knife and jacket on the ground, and the way Escovado was cowering in front of Norester. It only took him seconds to guess what had happened.

A chill spread throughout Kaibara's body, and he started to reach for his Magnum when the faint sound of coughing caught his attention. He immediately dashed toward the sound which came from a section of the jungle that was a few feet away from where the shack had been. There he found Ryo sitting at the foot of a large bush. Kaibara marched over and knelt down beside him. Ryo's face was smudged with soot, and Kaibara saw blood at one corner of his mouth.

"_Ryo! Ryo, are you all right?"_Kaibara said as he put a hand under Ryo's chin and tilted his head up to examine the wound on his lip.

"_I'm ok," _Ryo gasped out. Kaibara ran his hands along Ryo's body, checking for other injuries, and he noted how Ryo winced a couple of times as he did it. Still, from what he could tell, there were no serious injuries, and Kaibara let out a sigh of relief.

"Good," Kaibara said, switching back to Spanish. "Then we should head back to the outpost. Can you stand?"

Ryo nodded and coughed a couple more times before slowly rising to his feet. Before he could start walking, however, Kaibara picked him up and carried him back to where Norester and Escovado were waiting. Kaibara lowered Ryo to the ground, and Norester smiled at the sight.

"God Ryo, you scared me for a minute there," Norester said as he walked toward them.

"Sorry," Ryo said, ducking his head.

"It's ok, kid," Norester said. "I'm just glad that you're all right."

"Ryo, what happened here?" Kaibara said.

"I think what happened is pretty clear," Norester grimaced, turning back toward Escovado and poking him with his gun. "The better question is, what are we going to do with him?"

"How the hell did you get out?" Escovado grumbled, glaring at Ryo. Ryo pointed at a corner of the remains of the shack.

"There was a hole," Ryo mumbled. Kaibara walked over and crouched near the area Ryo had indicated. He could see the outline of a gap at the base of the wall and then saw that there was a trench in the ground below it.

"I pushed but it wouldn't move," Ryo continued. "So I dug up the dirt to make the hole bigger."

"That was quick thinking, kid," Norester said. "Glad to see that you're paying attention during our lessons."

Ryo grinned at him, but his face promptly fell when he glanced back at Escovado. He then walked toward him, and Norester was shocked when Ryo reached up for the gun in his hand.

"Ryo…what are you doing?" Norester asked him.

Ryo said nothing as he pulled again at Norester's gun. Norester, startled by Ryo's behavior, let his gun go, and Ryo grasped it in both hands. He then moved closer to Escovado and pointed it at him.

"What…what is he doing?" Escovado gasped. "He's…he's not going to shoot, is he? I thought he didn't know how to use a gun."

Ryo continued to stare silently at Escovado, and he aimed the gun at his head. Both Kaibara and Norester goggled at the sight as they tried to fathom what was going on in Ryo's mind.

"Ryo…." Kaibara said softly.

"St—stop this," Escovado said. "Don't let him shoot." He then fell to his knees.

"I swear, Saeba, I didn't mean it," he whimpered. "Please…please don't kill me."

Ryo's finger moved closer to the trigger, and Escovado cried out while shutting his eyes.

"BANG!" Ryo yelled as loud as he could.

Escovado screamed in terror and fell backward. He clutched his chest several times before finally realizing that Ryo hadn't actually fired. It was then that he noticed, to his embarrassment, that his pants had suddenly become wet.

Ryo lowered the gun and took a couple more steps toward him, his eyes never wavering from Escovado's.

"There," Ryo said with a slight smirk. "Now you know how it feels to be scared."

Ryo walked away and gave the gun back to Norester. He then moved to stand behind Kaibara, his head down. Norester watched him, stunned, for a moment before raising his gun back up at Escovado.

"Go back and wait with the rest of the men," Norester said. "Once we are done here, we'll be taking this up with Galvez. You just better hope that he has some kind of punishment lined up for you. Because if he doesn't, I can assure you that we will come up with one of our own. Now, move."

Escovado leapt to his feet and began to back away. As he moved, he felt his rage return, and he could not stop glowering at Ryo.

'_That damn freak….I can't let him get away with that….'_

Escovado reached toward a holster around his ankle, and his finger had just started to brush the gun when another shot rang out. Escovado screeched in agony as a bullet pierced his palm, shattering many of the bones in his hand. He fell to his knees and watched as Kaibara walked up toward him, a wisp of smoke rising from his Magnum.

"Ryo may have decided to show you mercy, but do not assume that I am as forgiving as him," Kaibara growled at him. Kaibara pressed the muzzle of his gun against Escovado's head, and Escovado hissed as the metal burned his skin.

"I do not intend to demean his decision, so I am giving you one chance, just one," Kaibara continued. "Leave. Leave here and never return. If you ever come anywhere near me or Ryo again, I will hunt you down and kill you. Slowly."

Escovado shook violently at the expression on Kaibara's face while still clutching his ruined hand. He then scrambled to his feet and ran away as quickly as he could into the jungle. Kaibara then put his gun away and turned back toward Ryo, frowning at the way that Ryo continued to keep his head down and shiver slightly. He walked over to him and put a hand on Ryo's head, and Ryo responded by grabbing the edge of Kaibara's jacket.

"How much more do we need to do here?" Kaibara asked as he looked up at Norester.

"Not much," Norester said. "I used their radio to get a hold of Galvez. He's sending more people to help us transfer these prisoners and gather anything we could use from this place."

"Good, then let's finish this so we can return to the village," Kaibara said. "I do not want to spend any longer here than we need to."

* * *

About three hours later, Norester drove back to the village with Kaibara and Ryo. He then went straight to Galvez and explained the situation to him. Galvez showed some disappointment, but supported Norester's decision to exile Escovado from the group.

Meanwhile, Kaibara made sure that a medic looked Ryo over and was relieved when the medic reported nothing worse than some moderate bruising. Kaibara then took Ryo to their hut and ordered him to rest until he was done with his duties for the day. After a while, Kaibara met up with Norester, who told him about Galvez's reaction to what had happened.

"I guess Galvez half expected something like this to happen at some point," Norester said. "He always was a loose cannon."

"I wonder if I should have killed him after all," Kaibara frowned.

"Yeah, well as much as I would have liked to do that myself, I think you did the right thing," Norester said. "Ryo had already gone through enough by that point. We didn't need to add to it. And like you said, Ryo chose to let him go. We should respect that."

"I suppose you are right," Kaibara said.

"Hey, this is a rare moment," Norester teased. "You admitting that I'm right."

"It was bound to happen someday," Kaibara smirked. "If only because of the law of averages."

* * *

An hour later, Kaibara finished preparing himself and Ryo some supper and walked into the hut to get Ryo to come out to join him by the fire. He found Ryo lying on a cot, his face buried into the pillow, and his back shaking with muffled sobs. Kaibara's heart ached at the sight, and he made sure to make the sound of his footsteps loud enough so as to not startle Ryo.

"_Ryo," _he said, placing and hand on his shoulder. "_Come out here and eat."_

Ryo sat up and scrubbed at his eyes before finally turning toward Kaibara and getting off the cot. He walked with Kaibara outside and sat down next to the fire. Kaibara served them both some food, and they ate in silence. Once they were done, Kaibara took care of the cutlery and sat down next to Ryo, who was still staring at the fire.

As Kaibara watched him, he reflected on all that had happened that day. He agreed with Norester that Ryo had endured more than one trauma that day, and he worried about the toll it was taking on Ryo. A part of him reminded himself that Ryo was going to have to learn to face hardships like this if he was going to survive in this environment, but another part of Kaibara still wanted to shield him from these kinds of things as much as possible.

For now though, Kaibara discovered that what he truly wanted, what he truly needed was to know that Ryo was all right, both mentally and emotionally.

"_Ryo, I want to discuss some things with you," _Kaibara said. "_Earlier today, you called me oyaji." _Ryo swallowed hard and squirmed.

"_I'm sorry," _he mumbled.

"_Why are you apologizing to me?" _Kaibara asked.

"_You're upset with me, right?" _Ryo said. "_Because you didn't want that."_

"_I am not upset with you," _Kaibara replied. "_I simply want to know why you did it." _Ryo squirmed even more and remained silent for a whole minute before speaking again.

"_I know that you aren't my birth father," _Ryo said. "_Papa died in the crash. But I…I heard Dopazo and Tamez talking about their fathers a couple weeks ago, and I…They said that their fathers were strong and brave and wise. They said that their fathers were always there when they needed them and always took care of them…And I thought…."_

Ryo paused and took a deep breath before continuing.

"_I thought about how you are like that. How you are brave, strong and wise," _he said. "_And I thought about how you take care of me and how you are always there for me. And then…I wished that you were my father. I wish for it so much, sometimes I call you oyaji when I am alone or when you can't hear me, so I can pretend that you are my father and that I am your son. I didn't mean to say it out loud this morning. I'm sorry."_

Kaibara had listened to all of this with a look of astonishment on his face. He knew that Ryo understood that he was a soldier and a killer, and he could not comprehend how Ryo could view him in the way that he just described. He especially could not grasp why Ryo would long to have him as a parent.

Soon, however, Kaibara found that he was even more shocked to discover that he was actually happy that Ryo wanted to be his son.

Kaibara let out a long sigh and leaned back against the wall of the hut. He had been wary of allowing any strong bonds into his life ever since his parents were killed, but now he could not see a way to escape the inevitable path that was now presenting itself.

Fate had led Ryo to him and now fate had decided to give him, Shin Kaibara, mercenary, soldier and one of the most feared men in Central America, a son of his own. Kaibara wondered briefly if perhaps some higher power was playing an elaborate joke, but he swiftly dismissed it as he pondered how fortunate he was to have a boy like Ryo in his life.

"_I understand," _Kaibara said. "_Now… You should try to get some rest. You've had a long day, and while we will be staying in the village tomorrow, we will still have plenty to do."_

Ryo nodded and started to get up, but Kaibara grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"_One last thing," _he said. "_Norester and I discussed your conduct today, and we are both pleased with your performance. You followed orders, you showed courage in your confrontation, and you showed great strength in how you handled the situation."_

_But…but I didn't do anything, not anything good," _Ryo spluttered. "_I wasn't able to defeat Escovado. He beat me up so easily."_

"_You might not have won the battle against Escovado, but he did not defeat you," _Kaibara said. "_You stood up to him. You fought as hard and as smart as you could. And when given the chance for revenge, you instead showed your strength of heart, your strength of character."_

Kaibara put a hand on Ryo's shoulder and smiled at him.

"_You did well today," _he added. "_And I am proud of you…musuko."_

Ryo's eyes widened at Kaibara's statement, and as the words sunk in, Kaibara was rewarded with a smile from Ryo that was full of joy and with eyes that were sparkling with happiness. Kaibara couldn't help but grin even more at the sight.

"_Thank you," _Ryo murmured.

"_You are welcome, Ryo," _Kaibara said. "_Now, go get some rest."_

"_I um…could I stay here with you for a while," _Ryo said sheepishly. "_Just until I get sleepy."_

"_All right, come here," _Kaibara said. _"The stars are starting to come out, and tonight looks like a good night to teach you about the constellations."_

Ryo nodded and moved to sit in Kaibara's lap with Kaibara tilting him back to look at the sky. He then rested his head against Kaibara's chest as Kaibara pointed out some of the major stars and mentioned the legends surrounding them. Minutes after he started though, Kaibara smiled ruefully as the soft sound of snoring told him that Ryo had fallen asleep. He thought about carrying him into the hut, but decided instead to stay like this for a while longer.

"_Oyaji," _Ryo murmured drowsily as he stirred slightly in his sleep. Kaibara reached down to brush a lock of hair from Ryo's forehead.

"_Sleep now, musuko," _he said to him. "_I will be here with you all night, so there is nothing to fear."_


	6. The Realization

Author's Note: Next chapter. I've noticed that my chapters are even longer than usual in this one. Hopefully though, my readers won't mind. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/and may review this. It is always appreciated. :)

-_Additional Note:_

-_Sensei_: Not only a way to address one's instructor, but also someone who is a doctor. Thus why Kaibara uses the title in that context.

Chapter Six—The Realization

One year later, Norester found himself speeding along the road, the jeep he was driving jostling roughly along the numerous holes and bumps, and laughing yet again at the ribald humor of the man riding along next to him.

* * *

A week previous, Galvez had gotten word of a tiny group of international aid workers who had come to Central America to support the groups engaged in the civil war against the government. Word of Galvez's group had reached them, and the leader of the aid group offered the services of one of the best doctors to replace their medic, who had transferred to a guerrilla group that was in more dire need of attention.

Norester had offered to meet with the doctor and take him to their village and had gone to one of the small towns about forty miles away to meet with him.

Once he arrived and showed up at the arranged meeting place, Norester found that he was in for a surprise. The man meeting him was short and slightly rounded with greying hair and a perpetual smile on his face along with decidedly Asian features.

"I take it that you are Stephen Norester," the man said in perfect English. Norester grinned and reached out to shake his hand.

"That's right," Norester said. "And you are Doctor…?"

"Correct," the man interrupted, removing his spectacles and wiping them with a cloth. "But feel free to just call me Professor."

"Well Professor, is your Spanish as good as your English?" Norester said.

"Certainly," the Professor said with a smile. "I wouldn't be much use if it wasn't, would I?"

"No, I suppose not," Norester laughed. "Well then, shall we go?"

* * *

The next half hour was spent with Norester driving and listening to the Professor talk about his experiences in other parts of the world as a field doctor before shifting to tell more risqué and humorous tales.

"Well Professor, I can honestly say that if your medical skills are half as good as your storytelling ones, you'll be a welcome addition to our group," Norester grinned. "Hell, I think Galvez will want to keep you around for your sense of humor if nothing else."

"Oh ho, but I think you'll find that I'm a much better doctor than comedian," the professor chuckled.

"So…I have to ask, by any chance are you Japanese?" Norester asked.

"Why yes, actually," the Professor nodded. "I imagine that running into a Japanese person in this part of the world is a pretty rare occurrence."

"Not as rare as you might think," Norester said with a lopsided grin. The Professor was about to ask what he meant by that when the village came into view. Norester parked his jeep on the edge of the village.

"We're here," Norester said. "Let me show you to your quarters, and then you can meet with Galvez."

* * *

A few minutes later, the Professor was arranging his instruments and his personal belongings into one of the larger huts of the village. He had just finished looking over the medical supplies available to him when a sound from behind him caught his attention. He turned around to see a child standing behind him. The Professor raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw that the child appeared to be Japanese.

"_Why hello there," _the Professor smiled at him. "_What is your name?" _The boy blinked in surprise but then started to grin.

"_I'm Saeba Ryo," _he said. "_Who are you?" _The Professor smiled even more and bowed slightly at him.

"_You can just call me Professor," _he said. _"I'm a doctor and I will be living here at this village for now."_

"_Oh," _Ryo nodded. He then walked over to a stack of boxes the Professor had brought with him and opened the lid to one near the foot of the pile.

"_Professor, what is this?" _Ryo asked.

"_Hmmm?"_

"_It says 'mokkori' library," _Ryo said, reading a label on the tin container inside the box. "_What is that? 'Mokkori'?" _

"_Ah, that's…not for you," _the Professor said, grinning nervously while snatching the box away from Ryo. "_This is something for adults. Understand?"_

"_Oh, ok," _Ryo said, shrugging his shoulders. The Professor shoved the box into a larger trunk and locked it before turning back toward Ryo.

"_So, Ryo-chan, why are you sneaking around my office?" _he asked him. Ryo looked all around him twice before moving closer to the Professor.

"_I'm hiding," _Ryo whispered with another slight grin.

"_Hiding, huh?" _the Professor replied. "_And what are you hiding from?"_

"_Ryo, where are you? We were supposed to start today's lesson an hour ago."_

Both Ryo and the Professor turned to see Kaibara walking into the hut. Upon seeing the Professor, Kaibara bowed slightly.

"_Hello, I am Kaibara Shin," _he said. "_You must be the new medic who Norester mentioned. It is a pleasure to meet you, sensei."_

"_Thank you, but please, no formality,"_ the Professor smiled. "_Feel free to just call me Professor. I must admit, I did not expect to meet another Japanese person here."_

"_It is a long story," _Kaibara smiled at him. Kaibara then turned to Ryo, his expression becoming more stern with Ryo flinching slightly in response.

"_Ryo, go report to Norester in the main yard," _he said. "_He has some things to go over with you before you start your lessons with me…and we will talk about your tardiness later."_

"_Yes sir," _Ryo said, his smile fading. He then trudged out of the hut with. Kaibara watching him leave. The Professor noted this exchange with interest.

"_A charming child," _the Professor said. "_Do the boy's parents live here with him?"_

"_No," _Kaibara said as he watched Ryo walk across the courtyard. "_He is an orphan." _Kaibara then went on to explain the circumstances that led to Ryo living there.

"_I see. That is a tragic situation," _the Professor said, shaking his head. "_But…I don't quite know if I would call him an orphan."_

"_What do you mean?" _Kaibara said, turning toward him.

"_Oh ho, it's quite clear to me by the way he looks at you that, in his eyes, you're his father," _the Professor smiled. _ "And I suspect that the sentiment is mutual. Am I wrong?"_

Kaibara frowned and turned away. While it was true that he had finally accepted Ryo as his son, and had made sure that Ryo was aware of it, he was not comfortable with sharing this fact with anyone else. Not only did Kaibara see it as problematic within the troop, he figured that if any of his enemies knew about this, they would try to use Ryo as a way to get to him. Thus, while he allowed Ryo to address him as _oyaji_ while in the village or when they were by themselves, he discouraged him from saying it around strangers or in mixed company, and he unconditionally forbid him to ever address him as father in either Spanish or English. For his part, Kaibara would only call him _musuko_ when they were alone or around Norester.

As a result, it disturbed Kaibara that a relative stranger was able to quickly discern the bond the existed between them, and he felt a spike of uneasiness at the Professor's comments.

"_You make a lot of assumptions,"_ Kaibara said quietly.

"_Perhaps," _the Professor said. "_And if I might make one more, I sense that you do not want your role, your true role, in the boy's life to be common knowledge. Fair enough and understandable given this environment. Let me assure you that I can be discreet."_

Kaibara's posture grew stiff and defensive for a moment before he slowly walked out of the hut. As he reached the doorway, he paused, but did not turn around.

"_Thank you," _he said, before walking back outside.

* * *

Meanwhile, Norester finished a set of drills with Ryo, and Norester had stopped to let Ryo take a break. While they were resting, a truck drove up to them, and Norester could see that it was Dopazo behind the wheel.

"Hey Norester, I brought in some new recruits," Dopazo said after he parked. Three men jumped out of the back of the truck. Dopazo then pointed at Norester.

"This is Mister Norester," he said to them. "You'll be reporting to him for training until you're ready to join us on the battlefield." One of the men smirked and pushed to the front of the group.

"The name's Perez," he said, pointing at his chest. "And I hardly need training. I'll have you know that I'm already something of a sharpshooter."

"Ha, I bet," Dopazo said to him. "You should know that you're standing in front of one of the best shots in all of Central America."

"Oh yeah?" Perez said. "Let me show you something."

Perez walked over to a practice area and spied an old target hanging from a tree. He then pulled out his pistol and fired a series of three shots which formed a small triangle toward the center.

"There, what do you think of that?" Perez smiled at Norester.

"Not bad," Norester grinned. He then pulled out his own pistol and took a moment to aim before firing three shots of his own. Perez's jaw dropped in shock when he saw that Norester's shots formed an even tighter circle within the triangle.

"Wow," Ryo grinned. "Are you going to teach me to do that?"

"Stand in line, kid," Perez said, motioning him aside. "That was impressive. You're easily the best shot in these parts if not this entire country. Any chance you could give me some pointers?" Norester laughed and patted Ryo on the head.

"I'm sure I could teach you a couple of things," he said to Perez before looking back at Ryo. "But Ryo, I'm not going to be the one to teach you to use a gun because I'm actually the second best shot in this group."

"Second best?" Perez goggled. "Who's the first?"

"Norester, are you finished with Ryo? Because I have some things to discuss with him."

Everyone glanced over to see Kaibara walking toward them. Norester nodded his head and put his gun away with a flourish.

"Sure, he's all yours," Norester said. "Hey, Kaibara, we've got some new people who need a lesson in gun handling. Show them that thing you showed me last month."

"Him?" Perez said, pointing at Kaibara. "He's the best shot? You're kidding me."

Kaibara frowned for a moment, but then a sardonic smile appeared on his lips and pulled out his Magnum. He then turned toward one of the targets and pointed his gun at it. He stared at the center of it for a second before taking a deep breath and firing three rapid shots. Perez blinked a couple of times in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Perez said as he walked toward the target. "Only one of the bullets hit the target, and you're trying to tell me that he's a better shot than any of us?"

"Look closer," Norester grinned. Perez gave him a quizzical expression before peering closely at the target. After a second of studying it, Perez let out a squeak in surprise.

"What is it, Perez?" one of the other men asked.

"He…he hit the exact same spot, the exact same one, all three times," Perez stuttered. "I mean, there's not a mark on either side of the hole."

"Exactly," Norester said, his grin growing. "I call it the One Hole Shot technique."

"You keep insisting on giving it that pretentious name," Kaibara smirked at him. "But it's not a trick. It's simply a way to give a Magnum the same penetrating force as a machine gun while taking advantage of the Magnum's greater accuracy."

"Incredible," Perez gaped. "How did he learn to shoot like that?" Kaibara chuckled quietly while Norester bent down toward Ryo, who was still watching Kaibara with a look of awe on his face.

"This is why Kaibara is going to be the one to teach you to use a gun, Ryo," he said. "Honestly, you couldn't get a better teacher than him."

* * *

Some time later, Ryo walked with Kaibara back toward the edge of the village. After giving Ryo a stern lecture about his wandering off before lessons, he put Ryo through a vigorous set of drills that had Ryo exhausted and sore by the end of it.

As they walked, Ryo thought about how over the last few months, Kaibara had increased the intensity of their training sessions and had become less tolerant of mistakes or requests to slow down or ease up on their routine. While Ryo was able to keep up with these changes, there were times when he resented how demanding Kaibara had become.

'_Norester doesn't make me do all the extra stuff that oyaji does,' _he thought to himself. '_And Norester doesn't make the drills so hard either.'_

'_Why is oyaji so mean to me now? Is he mad at me for something? Or…maybe he doesn't want me around anymore…'_

Ryo swallowed hard as he rubbed his side. Recently, he had heard several of the other men talking about how large of a burden it had to be for Kaibara to take care of him while still trying to operate as a guerrilla. The more he thought about what they said, the more Ryo wondered if Kaibara was tired of watching over him or if it was dangerous for him to do it.

"_Ryo, there is one last thing I want to work on today," _Kaibara said to him, interrupting his thoughts. Ryo looked up and watched Kaibara pulled out a small handgun out of his pocket. Kaibara stared at it for a moment before handing it carefully to Ryo.

"_In this world, our world, learning to use a gun is crucial," _Kaibara said. "_Especially for you at this point in your life since you are still too small to defend yourself with hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, it is essential that you take these lessons seriously."_

"_I understand," _Ryo nodded staring at the gun in his hands.

"_Good," _Kaibara said. He then guided Ryo over to a series of targets that he had set in place and knelt down behind him.

"_When firing, hold the gun this way," _Kaibara said, guiding Ryo's hands around the gun.

"_Why can't I just use one hand the way you do?" _Ryo asked him.

"_Because you are years away from being able to handle a gun with just one hand," _Kaibara said. "_Now, do as I say."_

Kaibara then instructed Ryo on how to stand, how to hold out his arms and how to aim before finally allowing him to fire. Ryo fired one shot, his hands jerking at the unexpected force of the gun.

"_Do it again," _Kaibara said. "_This time, concentrate on keeping your hands steady."_

Kaibara made Ryo shoot over and over again. All of his bullets missed the targets, and Ryo found himself increasingly frustrated. Eventually, Ryo's hands started to hurt and it became difficult to keep his arms stable while he tried to aim.

"_Keep shooting," _Kaibara told him. "_You are not stopping until you hit one of those targets."_

"_I can't do it," _Ryo retorted, his face growing red.

"_Yes, you can," _Kaibara said. "_Now, keep firing."_

"_No," _Ryo said, lowering the gun. "_I don't want to do this anymore."_

"_Ryo…."_

"_I can't hit them," _Ryo said, his voice raising. "_I keep trying and I just can't do it. I'm tired and I want to…."_

Ryo was interrupted when Kaibara gave him a light but firm slap to the face. Ryo put his hand where Kaibara had slapped him, his eyes growing wet with tears.

"_I told you to keep firing," _Kaibara said. "_Now, hurry up and shoot."_

Ryo sniffled and turned back toward the targets, his hands shaking as he lifted the gun to aim. He fired two more shots before finally hitting the outer edge of one of the targets. Once he did, Ryo blinked several times in surprise.

"_There, you see, you were able to do it after all," _Kaibara said. "_Now you are done for today."_

"_Why oyaji?" _Ryo said. "_Why do I have to do all this? The gun is so heavy. Couldn't I wait until I'm bigger to do this?"_

Kaibara's frown increased as he listened to Ryo's words and he reached down to grab him by the arms so that Ryo would face him.

"_You little fool," _Kaibara said, his voice seething with anger. "_Haven't you figured out by now that we are living in the middle of a war? Do you still not realize how dangerous it is for you here? Every time that Norester and I go out onto the battlefield, there is always a chance that one or both of us won't come back. And what do you think will happen to you then if you are not able to protect yourself?"_

Kaibara let Ryo go and turned his back to him.

"_Go and get yourself something to eat," _Kaibara said to him. "_We're done for the day."_

Ryo nodded silently and handed Kaibara the gun before running away.

* * *

Later that night, Ryo could not sleep.

After having some dinner, he had spent the rest of the day relaxing and spending time with Norester and the Professor. Kaibara did not show up until close to time to go to bed and had remained quiet and distant the entire time.

Ryo sat up in the cot he shared with Kaibara and watched him sleep. No matter how much he tried to calm down so he could rest, he could not get Kaibara's words out of his mind. Ryo pushed his blanket aside and tried to move it closer to Kaibara.

'_I'm sorry….oyaji….'_

Ryo scrubbed his eyes and carefully climbed out of bed and sat by the window so he could watch the sky. He ended up nodding off for short periods of times, but could not get any sort of sustained slumber. Eventually, faint rays of light appeared and Ryo yawned and stretched in his chair. He then dressed as quickly and quietly as he could before finding the gun Kaibara had had him use yesterday along with some extra ammunition. Ryo then crept quietly out of the hut, shivering in the early morning chill.

* * *

About three hours later, the Professor walked around the village. Most of the men had not gotten up yet, and the Professor decided that it would be a good time to study the layout of huts so as to better get his bearings.

He walked for several minutes before the sound of gunfire caught his attention. Frowning, he walked carefully over toward the sound and was startled to find Ryo standing in front of some targets, a gun in his hand. The Professor watched him fired a few more rounds and immediately became concerned at how Ryo's hands were shaking as he fired.

"_Ryo-chan," _he said, raising a hand to wave at him as he approached. "_Isn't it a little early for this sort of thing?" _Ryo stared at him for a moment before smiling and turning his attention back toward the targets.

"_Hi Professor," _he said. "_I'm sorry if I bothered you."_

"_It's no bother," _the Professor said. "_I was just curious about what you were doing."_

"_I…I need to practice," _Ryo said as he aimed the gun in his hands. He was about to pull the trigger when the Professor placed a hand on top of both of his.

"_Professor…."_

"_Ryo-chan, let me see your hands," _the Professor said, pulling the gun out of Ryo's grasp. Ryo held his hands up toward him, and the Professor frowned at what he saw. Blisters had formed on both hands and there was a trickle of blood flowing from one of them along with a light burn mark on one finger.

"_Come on," _the Professor said, patting Ryo's shoulder. "_I think you've practiced enough for the moment."_

"_But I…."_

"_No, Ryo, I need to treat your hands," _the Professor said. "_Otherwise, you won't be able to practice again for a long time. Is that what you want?"_

Ryo slowly shook his head and let the Professor guide him back to the village.

* * *

A couple hours later, Norester searched the village for Kaibara and eventually found him sitting by the pond near the village, smoking a cigarette.

"We need to talk," Norester said, his tone angry. Kaibara raised an eyebrow and put out his cigarette in the dirt.

"Did you know that Ryo went off by himself to practice shooting early this morning?" Norester said.

"I knew that he had gone off by himself, but I figured I would let him have his space until it was time for lessons," Kaibara replied.

"Well did you also know that Ryo was practicing until his hands bled?" Norester continued. "Fortunately, the Professor stopped him and treated him before he could do any real damage."

Kaibara started at this news but said nothing. Norester clenched his hands in frustration.

"The Professor also said that Ryo was pretty banged up, lots of bruises old and new," he added. "Now, I know that some of those are from our training sessions and from times when Ryo has been a little rough when playing around here. But I also know that you've been a lot tougher on him than I have here recently while training him."

Norester moved closer to Kaibara who had risen to his feet.

"What I want to know is what is going on here?" Norester said. "Why are you pushing Ryo so hard? He's still a kid. Don't you think you should hold back a little?"

"Hold back? Is that what you think?" Kaibara said. "Tell me, Norester, do you think our enemies will think that way? Do you think they will hold back and show Ryo mercy just because he is a child? Or do you think they will see him as easy prey and kill him without hesitation?"

"Kaibara…."

"We both knew from the beginning how difficult and dangerous it would be for Ryo to stay here," Kaibara continued. "Soon he's going to have to take a more active role on the battlefield. It's imperative that he learns to defend himself, and that means making sure that he can handle whatever an enemy might do to him."

"Don't you think that I know that?" Norester retorted. "What I don't get is why you are pushing him away from you along with pushing him to the point of breaking."

"What makes you think that I….?"

"Don't try to con me," Norester interrupted. "I know that you're counting on the fact that I don't speak Japanese, but I don't need to. Not to know that Ryo is calling you 'dad'."

Kaibara glared at him, but held his tongue while Norester took another step toward him.

"Don't you get it?" Norester said. "Ryo looks up to you. He looks to you for guidance and for security. But more than any of that, he loves you. He'll do whatever it takes to make you happy because you're his father. Even if that means that he'll end up getting himself hurt in the process."

Kaibara turned and stared at the pond. His face was impassive, but Norester noted a slight tremor in Kaibara's hands.

"Look, I get that it's not easy to be a parent," Norester said, his tone softening. "Trust me, I know. I'm sure I make mistakes all the time with Mary. But despite all that, I make sure that Mary knows that I will always treasure her as my child, no matter what happens. And I do my best to protect her from everything…including herself."

Norester watched Kaibara silently for a moment more before walking away. Once he was gone, Kaibara slumped against a tree.

The truth was, he himself had wondered lately if he was demanding too much from Ryo. But every time he thought about going a little easier on him, he would think back to the incident with Escovado a year ago. For a few brief moments, Kaibara had thought that Ryo was dead, and that loss had created a feeling of emptiness inside him. While that in itself had been disturbing, what had bothered him even more was how helpless Ryo had been in that situation. Despite the fact that Ryo had shown great strength of character, the fact remained that he could have easily perished at Escovado's hand. That thought kept Kaibara awake at night for weeks afterward and had made him even more vigilant over Ryo's safety.

Eventually though, it occurred to Kaibara that something could happen to him or Norester on the battlefield, and that ultimately, he could not always ensure Ryo's survival. Thus he felt compelled to train Ryo even harder so he could take care of himself and had tried to impress on Ryo the need to rely on himself as much as possible. Kaibara had noted some marked improvement in Ryo's skills, but Norester's words and his own observations of Ryo's recent melancholy made him question the validity of his methods.

Kaibara lifted his head at the faint sound of gunfire and immediately walked toward the sound.

* * *

Moments later, he found Ryo standing in front of the practice targets, gun in hand, aiming to shoot another round. Kaibara could see that his hands were bandaged and that there were fresh spots of blood on the bandages.

"_Ryo." _Ryo nearly jumped, but did not turn around.

"_Look, oyaji," _he said. He then fired and Kaibara watched as the bullet hit closer toward the center of the target.

"_I'm getting better," _Ryo said. _"Now I can hit the target most of the time. And I will keep practicing until I hit it every time. I swear."_

Ryo lifted his gun to fire again, but Kaibara grabbed his wrist and pulled the gun out of his hands.

"_Enough Ryo," _Kaibara said. "_I want you to stop."_

"_But why? I thought you wanted me to practice. I can…."_

"_Ryo, your hand is bleeding again," _Kaibara said. "_If you keep practicing like that, you won't get any better, in fact you will just develop poor skills as a result of trying to compensate for your injuries. You need to stop for now."_

"_But I…." _Ryo said, his entire body trembling_. "I can't."_

"_Why can't you?" _Kaibara said.

"_Because….because I don't want you to die," _Ryo blurted out. "_You said that every time you and Norester fight, you could die. And I know that part of that is because you have to take care of me. But…if I know how to shoot too, you wouldn't have to take care of me. You could take care of yourself and I could help you."_

Ryo shook even more and soon he sank down onto his knees, his head down.

"_I lost Mama and Papa in the crash," _he nearly whispered, his voice unsteady. "_I don't want to lose you too. Please…."_

Kaibara knelt down beside Ryo and placed his hands on his shoulders. He had been overwhelmed by what Ryo said and the amount of affection that he had for him, but did his best to remain calm for Ryo's sake.

"_Ryo, listen to me," _he said. "_I cannot promise you that nothing will ever happen to me, to Norester or to you. This is simply how life is. There are no guarantees. Even in the safest places, there is always the chance that something terrible could happen."_

Kaibara squeezed Ryo's shoulders which made Ryo finally look him in the eye.

"_But what I can promise is that I will always work as hard as I can to protect you," _Kaibara continued. "_And I can promise you that I will always do my best to remain a part of your life. Now, I know that I have placed a lot of high demands on you during your training, but that is because I wanted to be sure that you will survive. You need to understand that this is not only important to you, but to me as well."_

Kaibara noticed that Ryo was shivering and rubbed his shoulders and arms in an effort to warm him.

"_But this…this is not the answer," _he continued. "_You will continue to train, and it will continue to be difficult, but from now on I will make sure that it is not at the expense of your wellbeing. And I am sorry that I was so careless in that regard of late."_

Kaibara let go of Ryo's shoulders and reached down to place Ryo's hands in the center of his palms. He could see that the spots of blood on the bandages had grown slightly, and Kaibara's heart twisted at the sight.

"_You have become very strong, musuko," _he said. "_But I ask that you do not cause me grief by purposely throwing yourself into harm's way."_

Ryo's eyes became shiny as he leaned toward Kaibara to grab his shirt. Kaibara responded by pulling Ryo close for an embrace, and Ryo immediately wrapped his arms around Kaibara's neck and shoulder.

"_Oyaji," _Ryo choked out.

"_It's all right, musuko," _Kaibara said. "_Relax now, and let me take care of you."_

Ryo slumped down in his arms, and rested his head against Kaibara's shoulder while Kaibara lifted him up to carry him to the Professor's hut so he could get Ryo's hands treated again.

"_Oyaji."_

"_Yes?"_

"_The Professor had a box that said 'mokkori' on it. What does that mean?"_

"_It means that you are not allowed to look at any pictures or read any books or magazines that he has in his personal possessions until you are much older," _Kaibara said with a frown. "_And I will make sure to remind him of that."_

Ryo giggled and snuggled closer and Kaibara tightened his hold on him, unable to stop himself from smiling and laughing along with Ryo all the way to the Professor's hut.


	7. The Divergence

Author's Note: Next chapter. This will be another long one...which I suspect is going to end up being the norm for this fic. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/may think about reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :)

Chapter Seven—The Divergence

As Kaibara examined the contents of his knapsack, he contemplated how quickly the mission he was on had gone from a prosaic event to a disaster.

* * *

Earlier that day, Kaibara had led a group of men to one of the more distant villages, which was situated near a larger city, to barter for supplies. Galvez had also instructed Kaibara to assess some potential new recruits who had arranged to meet with Dopazo.

Partially because it was considered a low-risk mission and partially because he wanted to get in some additional training, Kaibara took Ryo with him. It had been about two years since Kaibara had first shown him how to use a gun, and recently, Kaibara was gradually shifting Ryo's role on the battlefield from being purely defensive and supportive to offensive. Thus, he wanted to give Ryo additional time to apply what he had learned in a less stressful setting so as to gauge how ready Ryo was to join him on the frontlines.

As Kaibara followed one of their trucks toward the village in a jeep, he occasionally glanced over at Ryo, who was leaning back in his seat. Kaibara had guessed that he was about seven years old by this point and began to chuckle to himself as he recalled Norester's recent complaints about how Ryo was finally going through a growth spurt.

'_Do you know how difficult it is to find appropriate stuff for a kid his size to wear out here?' _Norester would grumble. '_And then almost as soon as I find him some stuff, he outgrows it. It's ridiculous.'_

Ryo yawned and stretched as Kaibara turned his focus back to the road. Even though he was still a relatively small child, Kaibara began to suspect that Ryo would turn out the same way he did and grow much taller at some point, and he was pleased that eventually Ryo would no longer have to worry about being picked on because of his size.

"_Oyaji, are we going to meet up with Norester later?" _Ryo asked. Kaibara spun the wheel while navigating a tight turn and grunted as the jeep lurched after hitting a bump in the road.

"_Yes, on the return trip," _Kaibara told him. "_Ryo, do you understand why I brought you here?"_

"_To practice using my skills," _Ryo replied.

"_Correct, very good," _Kaibara nodded. "_But I want you to keep something in mind. Even though this is mainly just a supply run and a chance for you to practice, you need to be aware of your surroundings and be on the lookout for opponents at all times. It only takes a matter of seconds for a situation to turn deadly, and enemies will frequently strike when they believe that you are off-guard. Do you understand?"_

"_I understand," _Ryo said.

"_Good," _Kaibara said as they pulled up to the village. "_Now, make sure to stay close to me and remain quiet. Not everyone is the village is friendly to the resistance, so it's important for us in particular to be as unobtrusive as possible."_

Ryo looked over at him, and it was clear that he wanted to ask what he meant by that, but he remained silent as they parked their jeep and joined the rest of the men from the truck. As they walked through the village, Ryo noticed how a lot of people were staring at him and at Kaibara, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy over it.

Soon, they met with a group of men gathered at the outskirts of the village, one of whom gestured toward a large pile of boxes.

"Ah welcome, welcome," the man said. "My name is Janero, and we are honored to assist your group in any way we can." Dopazo walked up to him and shook his hand.

"And we thank you for it," he said. "My name is Dopazo, and this here is Kaibara, one of our top men."

"Ah yes," Janero nodded. "Even out here, we have heard many tales of the 'Angels of Destruction'. It is good to know that we can count on his support for our cause."

Ryo grinned at Janero's words. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he felt a surge of pride upon finding out how well-known and respected Kaibara was in this place. That grin soon faded though as he noted that other people in the village were watching all of them from a distance with frowns on their faces and contempt in their eyes.

"There are several of our men who would like to join you," Janero continued. "They are ready to accompany you today."

"Good, they can help us take these supplies back to our village," Dopazo nodded. "Have you got any transportation for them?"

"Yes, a couple of jeeps," Janero said. "Again, I do wish that we could do more than just provide you with some food and medical supplies."

"Believe me, both are always needed," Dopazo said. "You are doing us a great favor."

Dopazo and Kaibara then went to check out the supplies and to talk more with Janero and some of his men while Ryo looked on. He thought about going back to the jeep when a child walked up to him. The boy appeared to be about the same age as him, and Ryo was about to ask him what his name was when the boy spat in his face.

"Get out of our village," the boy said to him. "We don't want weird foreigners like you here."

Ryo's face grew red, and he was shifting to a fighting stance when Kaibara placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up.

"Ryo, go help Escota and the other men load up the supplies into the truck," he said. "I will meet with you later."

Ryo frowned and kept glancing back to the boy in front of him, but eventually nodded and started to walk away. As he did, the boy threw a rock at his back, the tip of which bounced off his shoulder.

"Just you wait," the boy shouted at him. "My daddy says that you'll all be wiped out. You'll see."

Ryo gritted his teeth and gripped the rifle that was slung over his shoulder, but did not stop walking. He desperately wanted to turn around and shut the boy up, but he knew that Kaibara was evaluating his conduct on this mission and he did not want to disappoint him.

'_Who cares what he thinks?' _he told himself. '_Oyaji could take out anyone here if he wanted to. He's just too dumb to know that."_

Ryo smirked to himself and then ran over to Escota and soon was helping to carry boxes toward the truck.

After Kaibara and Dopazo visited for a while longer with Janero, they got ready to leave with several men piling into a couple of jeeps to follow Kaibara and Dopazo back to the village. They then left the village, and for a short while, the drive had been an uneventful one.

As he rode in the jeep with Kaibara, Ryo slumped down in his seat and scowled. He continued to ponder what he would have liked to have done in that village and a ball of anger churned inside him.

"_You are still upset over what happened, aren't you?" _Kaibara suddenly asked him. Ryo flinched at his words and sank down even further in his seat.

"_Some, I guess," _Ryo mumbled.

"_Ryo, do not lie to me," _Kaibara said. Ryo's cheeks burned as he looked down at the floor.

"_Ok yeah, I'm mad,_" Ryo said. "_That jerk threw a rock at me. And I…I really wanted to…."_

"_You wanted to make him pay," _Kaibara finished for him. "_To make him regret what he had done to you."_ Ryo slowly nodded and Kaibara took a deep breath.

"_Do you understand why I wanted you to walk away?" _he asked Ryo.

"_No, no I don't" _Ryo said, finally looking up. "_I thought you wanted me to defend myself."_

"_That is true, but in this case, that did not apply," _Kaibara replied. "_Even though he was bigger than you, with your skills, you could have easily beaten him. He was no real threat to you."_

Kaibara glanced down at him, and Ryo was surprised at the look of calm sympathy in his eyes.

"_Listen to me, musuko," _he continued. "_An important part of having true power is knowing when not to use it. I can tell you that there will be other times when you will be tempted to use your abilities to settle personal scores, but you must be very careful when this happens. While there are times when you must act as a way to preserve your own standing and protect the people close to you, there will be many more times when you should choose to refrain from acting because acting will make you no different than a bully or a thug."_

Kaibara swerved the jeep around some branches that had fallen in the road and glanced all around him before continuing.

"_It's not unlike in the people in this government here, who choose to bully and terrorize the people in this country simply because they have the means to do so," _he said. "_It is the reason why we are fighting them."_

"_I guess I understand," _Ryo shrugged. "_But…I…."_

"_It's not just the boy who bothered you, is it?" _Kaibara asked. "_It's also the way the others acted around us."_

"_Yeah,_" Ryo sighed. "_I mean, didn't they get that we're trying to help them?"_

"_Perhaps," _Kaibara said. "_But no matter what we might be doing for them, we are still outsiders here."_

"_Because we are Japanese," _Ryo said.

"_Yes, but also because we are guerrillas, soldiers," _Kaibara replied. "_We live a life that many people cannot and do not want to understand. In that sense, we will always be outsiders no matter where we are."_

"_That's dumb," _Ryo frowned. "_Just because we live a different kind of life doesn't mean that we aren't human." _Kaibara laughed in response.

"_Same as always," _he smiled at him. "_You see things as they should be. Unfortunately most people are not as perceptive as you and you must learn to deal with this reality."_

Ryo let out another sigh, and Kaibara reached over to pat his shoulder. Even though he wanted to make sure that Ryo understood the way most people tended to operate, a part of him hoped that Ryo would never completely abandon his more idealistic perspective on the world. He was about to say more when suddenly an aura of danger caught his attention. Kaibara grabbed Ryo's shirt and pulled him toward the floor.

"_Get down," _he ordered as he bent forward against the wheel. Seconds later, gunfire rang out around them, and Kaibara steered the jeep off the road. The other jeeps and the truck did the same and soon all of them were parked close together. Kaibara motioned at Ryo to crawl out of the jeep and the two of them ended up taking cover beside while squatting down on the ground. Soon, both Dopazo and one of the men from the village were crouching down next to them.

"That dirty Espinoz," the man from the village hissed. "I am sure that he betrayed us. He probably told the military that we were heading to one of the guerrilla camps."

"What should we do?" Dopazo asked Kaibara. A spray of bullets whizzed past them, and Kaibara paused before rising up and returning fire. The sound of faint cries reached their ears, and Kaibara sat back down on the ground before responding.

"There aren't very many of them," he said. "I am certain that I could take care of them while you get the truck and the men out of here."

"Kaibara, are you sure?" Dopazo said. "If there aren't very many of them, we could just stay and fight."

"No," Kaibara said. "Even a handful of men could wipe out our supplies if they manage to take out the truck, and most of the men here are inexperienced at this sort of fighting. You should go on ahead and meet up with Norester. If I still need assistance by that point, he and his men can give it to me."

Dopazo nodded and moved to guide the men from the village toward the truck. Kaibara then turned toward Ryo.

"_I want you to go with Dopazo," _he told him. "_Help him get those men and supplies to Norester."_

"_No!" _Ryo insisted. "_I want to stay here with you."_

"_I gave you an order and I expect you to follow it," _Kaibara barked at him. "_Now, get over to that truck before it leaves."_

"_But….but I…." _Ryo stuttered. Kaibara's expression softened and he put a hand on Ryo's arm.

"_Do not worry, musuko," _he said. "_I can handle this. Now, go. You will see that this will all be over soon…and you can be certain that Norester will take care of anything that I do not have a chance to attend to."_

Ryo swallowed hard and slowly nodded his head before shuffling after Dopazo toward the truck. Kaibara watched him leave and made sure to give him additional cover fire to ensure that he would make it to the truck safely.

Once he was gone, Kaibara carefully pulled himself up to snatch the knapsack of extra ammunition and survival gear out of the backseat of the jeep. He readied his rifle and continued to fire several rounds as the truck and one of the jeeps began to pull away. Kaibara was surveying the area around him for a more strategic position when a flash of metal caught his eye. It only took him a second to realize that it was a grenade launcher and that it was aimed at the truck. Kaibara yanked out his Magnum and moved up to shoot at the person holding it.

At the same time he fired, however, another bullet headed for him from a different direction. Kaibara felt the bullet tear into his shoulder as he watched the man holding the grenade launcher fall to the ground dead. He then let out a grunt of pain as he dropped back down behind the jeep and held his shoulder.

* * *

Ryo was sitting near the back of the truck and had watched Kaibara get hit, collapse to ground, and disappear. His eyes searched frantically for any sign of movement from Kaibara, but saw nothing.

'_Oyaji….'_

Ryo clenched his hands. He knew that Kaibara expected him to stay with the truck, and he knew that Kaibara would be furious if he disobeyed that order.

But none of that was enough to prevent him from crouching down and jumping out of the truck just before it started to pick up speed.

"Saeba! What are you doing?" Dopazo said as Ryo leapt toward the road. He was about to tell the driver to stop, but then Ryo darted off toward the brush, and Dopazo knew that there wouldn't be time to find him and still get away.

As he continued to ride away, Dopazo silently prayed for nothing to happen to Ryo…partially so that Kaibara wouldn't be tempted to kill him for letting Ryo out of his sight.

* * *

Kaibara panted as he wrapped a handkerchief around his shoulder and tied it as tightly as he could to staunch the bleeding. He could tell that the wound was not serious, but he was concerned about how much blood he was losing and how it could hinder his ability to fend off his opponents. He looked into his knapsack and frowned as he realized that he did not have a lot of spare ammunition.

'_Only one more clip for the rifle and two rounds for the Magnum,' _he mused. '_And there are eight…no nine of them. I will have to make sure to make every shot count.'_

Suddenly, Kaibara sensed someone approaching him, and he started to aim his Magnum when he realized that he could sense no murderous intent. He then frowned as his suspicions were confirmed with Ryo crawling out from the underbrush.

"_Oyaji, are you all right?" _he asked as he moved closer.

"_Ryo, what are you doing here?" _Kaibara growled at him. "_I told you to go with Dopazo."_ Ryo lowered his head as he settled next to him.

"_I know that you told me to leave," _he said. "_But I saw you get shot, and I…I just couldn't…."_ Kaibara frowned, but soon sighed and shook his head. As much as he was upset with Ryo, he couldn't deny that he could use his help right now.

"_We will discuss your insubordination later," _he said. "_For now, we will need to focus on the situation at hand. Do you have your gun or any additional ammunition with you?"_

"_I don't have my rifle," _Ryo said. "_But I've got this, and it has a full round." _ He then pulled out the Colt Python Magnum that Kaibara had given him a couple weeks ago.

"_It will have to do," _Kaibara said. He started to feel light-headed and leaned forward, his head dropping downward as he tried to regain his composure. Ryo moved even closer and put a hand on his arm.

"_Oyaji…." _Kaibara took a deep breath and raised his head.

"_It's all right. I just needed a moment," _he told Ryo. "_Right now, our opponents are clustered together. I think the best solution here is to make them move away from each other. That will give us an opportunity to take them out while the odds are more equal. Make sure to watch for my signals and follow my lead."_

Ryo nodded and prepared to move while Kaibara slung his rifle onto his uninjured shoulder and checked his Magnum. He then took another deep breath and motioned his instructions to Ryo silently with his hands, and the two of them split up into the jungle.

For several minutes, Ryo would wait for Kaibara to signal him to create some kind of distraction to lure someone toward him, and as soon as that person got close to Ryo, Kaibara would sneak up from behind and shoot him. Soon, the two of them whittled down their enemies by half. After sensing a shift in the enemies' tactics, Kaibara guided Ryo to hide with him near a thick set of bushes over a dip in the ground.

"_Most of them are retreating," _Kaibara whispered to him. "_Probably to get reinforcements. But one of them is still stalking us, and I suspect he is the one who shot me."_

Ryo watched worriedly at the way that Kaibara sweated and panted while telling him this, the handkerchief wrapped around his shoulder having become soaked with blood, and he was afraid that Kaibara would not be able to hold on much longer.

"_Oyaji, maybe we should run," _Ryo suggested. "_There's just one of them, and your shoulder…."_

"_No, no this one is more skilled than the others," _Kaibara said. "_If we try to run, he will probably find an opportunity to take one or both of us out. No, we need to take care of him first. This time, I will lure him toward me. Then you will surprise him and that should be enough of a distraction for me to be able to get the upper hand."_

Kaibara directed him to move and then once he was alone, he pulled out his Magnum and took another deep breath. He was aware that he would probably only have one shot at this, and he hoped that his strength would hold out for this last assault. Once he was sure that Ryo was out of sight, Kaibara began to break branches near the ground in an attempt to confuse his opponent over his movements. He then waited for the enemy to appear, his breaths becoming ragged and shallow while he tried to push back his growing disorientation.

Kaibara was so distracted by this task; he did not notice it when a man crept up behind him until the last moment when the man pounced toward him. Kaibara aimed his gun at his chest, but the man knocked the gun out of his hand before he could fire. The man then punched him in the shoulder, causing Kaibara to gasp and collapse onto his back on the ground.

"So, it is you. You are Shin Kaibara, yes?" the man sneered as he stood and pressed his boot against Kaibara's shoulder. "I have heard many stories about you as have everyone else in my division. Once I kill you, I will be famous. I might even get a promotion."

"A promotion, huh? What ambition," Kaibara smirked at him. "A promotion so you can be the lapdog who sits even closer to your masters' feet? It's men like you who become nothing more than puppets to greedy men like your beloved leaders."

The man's face twisted in fury and he stomped down on Kaibara's shoulder, causing Kaibara to cry out in agony. The man then pulled out his pistol and pointed it at Kaibara's head.

"Laugh all you want," the man spat at him. "You won't be laughing in a moment, after I kill you. Or maybe…maybe I should take my time. I'd love to hear you beg for forgiveness for the way you tried to mock me."

Kaibara groaned as he tried to catch a full breath. He looked up at the man with a frown and prepared himself to take the pain as stoically as he could. He promised himself he would not give this man the satisfaction of hearing him beg, no matter what was done to him.

"Stop it! Don't move!"

Both Kaibara and the man started as they looked over to see Ryo standing across from them, his Magnum pointed at the man's head.

"Get away from him," Ryo said as he took a step closer. The man roared with laughter at the sight.

"What is this? A child?" he laughed. "Boy, do you even know how to use that gun?"

Ryo remained silent, his eyes filled with a mix of fear, anger and uncertainty. The man kept his gun aimed at Kaibara and continued to laugh.

"I see, I get it now," he said as he looked down at Kaibara. "He's yours, isn't he? I had heard that you were a man with few scruples, but I didn't think that you'd go as far as to take your own child into battle with you." He then mashed his foot against Kaibara's shoulder again, and he laughed at the sound of Ryo trying to swallow down the tears that flooded his eyes in response to Kaibara's cries of pain.

"If you don't move away, I will shoot you," Ryo said, his voice wavering slightly.

"Ha, no you won't," the man laughed. "You don't have it in you." He then leaned close to Kaibara's face and pushed the gun against his temple.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you now, not yet," the man whispered to him. "I want you to stay alive long enough for you to watch me kill your boy. I wonder just how long it will take me to make him scream for mercy."

Kaibara's eyes lit up with rage as the man stood back up and pulled the hammer back on his gun.

As the man moved his finger to the trigger, Ryo's eyes grew wide and he felt his heart pound in his chest. Up until this point, Ryo had only shot at targets and had provided cover fire for either Kaibara or Norester on the battlefield. He had never aimed his gun at a person before, had never actually shot anyone before. But as he watched this man laugh and prepared to fire his gun at Kaibara, one thought, strong and insistent, filled his brain.

He had to protect his father.

Ryo pulled the trigger twice, striking the man in the chest both times. The man dropped his gun and staggered back for a second, a look of shock on his face, before falling backward to the ground. Ryo heard him let out a hoarse rattle, his breath clogged with blood, before the man grew still, his eyes seeing nothing. Ryo moved closer, his gun still pointed at the man, but it only took him a moment more to realize that the man was dead.

"_Ryo," _Kaibara breathed.

At the sound of his father's voice, Ryo shoved his gun back into its holster and ran over to kneel down beside Kaibara.

"_Oyaji," _he said, his voice trembling. Kaibara carefully pulled himself into a sitting position and reached for his gun.

"_Ryo…I don't have much time," _he said. "_And it sounds like our opponents are back with their reinforcements. I will stay here and hold them off as best I can while you escape."_

"_No, I won't," _Ryo said. "_I won't leave you. We'll fight together."_

"_No, there are too many of them this time," _Kaibara said. "_Nothing can be accomplished by you staying, but if you leave now, I can make sure that at least you will survive."_

Ryo opened his mouth to argue again when the sound of an explosion reached their ears. Instinctively, Kaibara grabbed Ryo and pushed him to the ground while making sure to shield Ryo's body with his own and cover Ryo's head with both of his arms.

'_Wait…that wasn't one of their grenades,'_ Kaibara thought to himself. As realization hit him, he let out a laugh and began to smile.

'_Norester…it's about time that you showed up.'_

Kaibara sat up and guided Ryo to move for cover near the jeeps they had left behind. Once they were there, Kaibara fell back onto the ground and laid still. He could hear Ryo's breath hitch as he huddled next to him, and he fought to stay awake so he could make sure that Ryo was safe and would not panic. Moments later, the area around them grew quiet, and Kaibara looked up to see Norester and the Professor standing over him.

"Looks like we almost didn't make it in time," Norester said grimly as he and the Professor crouched down. "Sorry we're so late."

"I think…I need…a new partner," Kaibara gasped out with a smirk on his face.

"Yeah well, good luck finding someone who will put up with your attitude," Norester said quietly. Kaibara let out a short laugh that was soon cut off with a cry of pain as the Professor began to examine his shoulder. His vision then started to grow fuzzy and he struggled to remain conscious.

"_Please oyaji," _Ryo cried, grabbing one of his hands. "_Please hold on." _

"_Calm down, Ryo-chan," _the Professor said. "_He will be all right, I promise. Kaibara, you are close to passing out and I suggest that you do not fight it."_

"Dopazo was able to get through and my men are taking care of the rest of this, Kaibara," Norester assured him. "So just relax and let the Professor take care of you."

Kaibara nodded one more time and managed to give Ryo a reassuring smile before surrendering to oblivion.

* * *

Several hours later, Kaibara sat outside next to his hut, his shoulder bandaged, his arm in a sling, and a glass of whiskey in his hand.

After they defeated the division that had come to ambush them, Norester and Dopazo had made their way back to the village where a grateful throng of people gave them additional supplies as a way to thank them for driving back the government forces and rooting out the traitors in the village. Galvez had been pleased at how a simply supply run had turned into a great windfall that could easily sustain them for months and the mood in the village had quickly become celebratory.

Kaibara watched as Norester and a bunch of the other guerrillas drank and partied, and he laughed a little at Norester's antics before taking a long sip of his whiskey. His shoulder was still painfully sore, but he had to admit that he was feeling much better after some rest and the Professor's treatment.

He finished what was in his glass and was about to pour himself another one when he spotted Ryo sitting by himself next to a fire a few feet away, a thoughtful look on his face. Ever since they had returned to the village, Ryo had not strayed far away from him, and Kaibara had noted how quiet Ryo had been ever since he regained consciousness in the Professor's hut. He could tell that Ryo was happy that he was all right, but Kaibara also sensed that he was troubled.

Letting out a deep sigh, Kaibara slowly stood up and walked over to sit next to him.

"_What is on your mind, Ryo?" _he said as he sat down. Ryo shook his head and continued to stare at the fire. Kaibara frowned and put his bottle of whiskey and his glass onto the ground and put a hand on Ryo's shoulder.

"_What is it?" _Kaibara repeated.

"_Oyaji…everyone else…Norester, Dopazo, Galvez…they all seem so happy right now," _Ryo said. "_But I…I'm not. I keep thinking about what happened and…and about….."_

"_Yes?"_

"_I keep thinking about that man….the one I shot," _Ryo murmured. "_The one I…killed."_

"_I see," _Kaibara said. "_You have regrets?"_

"_No I…," _Ryo said, looking up at Kaibara. "_I was so scared…scared that he was going to kill you. I couldn't let him do it."_

"_I understand now," _Kaibara nodded. "_You don't regret saving my life, but you still feel regret over having to kill another human being, even if he was a despicable person. It feels like a weight inside you, a burden on your heart."_

"_Yeah, exactly like that," _Ryo said quietly. "_I know that Norester and all of them are happy when they beat the enemy and I guess I thought I'd feel happy too, but I don't. And I don't get why I feel this way."_

Kaibara put his arm around Ryo's shoulders and pulled him close, and Ryo responded by leaning against him.

"_What you're feeling isn't wrong, musuko," _Kaibara said. "_It is simply a product of the person you are inside. Some people, people like Norester, they have a different way of viewing their actions when they have to take a life. It does not mean that they are somehow superior to you in some fundamental way."_

"_Then what should I do?" _Ryo asked. "_Should I just try to smile and laugh like Norester until I feel better?"_

"_Well that is not an invalid approach," _Kaibara said. "_But to be honest, I cannot tell you exactly how to cope with this burden. But what I can tell you is that perhaps the best way to honor those whose lives you are forced to take is to live your own life to the fullest…whatever that may mean for you. Do not make their deaths a meaningless gesture. Focus on that principle, and I think you will find a way to make peace with what you have done and with what you may be forced to do in the future." _

"_Thank you, oyaji," _Ryo murmured. Kaibara squeezed his shoulder.

"_I should be thanking you, musuko," _he replied. "_You saved my life, and I am grateful. Despite the fact that you disobeyed orders, I am very pleased with the courage you showed today."_

Ryo finally began to smile, and Kaibara smiled back, happy to see Ryo's spirits lift a little. The two of them then went back to staring at the fire, each of them content to stay as they were in a companionable silence.

* * *

A short distance away, Norester and the Professor leaned against a hut and shared a bottle of bourbon while watching the scene near the fire.

"They truly are very much alike, aren't they?" the Professor said.

"You think so? I suppose I can see it a little," Norester said, shrugging his shoulders. "You think it's because they're both Japanese? Or because they're acting as father and son?"

"I'd say they do far more than just acting," the Professor said. "And the fact that they are both Japanese is just a surface thing. Those two, they are both brave with strong hearts, but the both of them also have sensitive souls. Kaibara chooses to keep his soul guarded with a frown and with his taciturn demeanor while Ryo chooses to keep his hidden behind a smile and his charming persona. In the end though, the both of them long to have someone see them for who they are beyond the surface."

The Professor took a long swig of bourbon before handing the bottle to Norester.

"That is why they are able to bond as father and son and why they find solace in each other's company," he continued. "Because the both of them are able to see past that surface level."

"I think you're right," Norester nodded. "I've known both Kaibara and Ryo for years now and yet I don't think I'll ever understand either of them as well as they seem to understand each other."

"I doubt either of us will ever get the full picture," the Professor smiled. "So I wouldn't worry about it."

"I don't intend to," Norester grinned after taking another drink. "Instead, how about we head back to your hut? I know that you have more of this bourbon there and I wouldn't mind checking out that stash of magazines you keep hidden in that trunk underneath your bed."

"Oh ho, I knew that you would bring that up eventually," the Professor laughed. "But that suits me just fine because I'm not ready to call it a night either."

The two of them laughed and marched toward the Professor's hut, both of them intent on enjoying whatever levity they could before the night was over.


	8. The Confirmation-part one

Author's Note: Next chapter. From what I can tell right now, this is one is going to end up being a long one, much like my _Journey Into Shadows_ fic (which I hope to update some time this week). So I hope my readers will continue to enjoy the ride. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :D

**Eve: **Thank you for the review, as always. :) I am glad that you enjoy the long chapters since this seems like it will be the norm :)...As for how much of Ryo's past is mentioned in the later volumes of the manga, sadly not all that much is mentioned. You do get to find out about a few more things his past when his adoptive father, Shin Kaibara, shows back up in Volume 33, but other than a couple of very important turning points in Ryo's life (which I will be writing about in this fic) they do not go into much detail. Thus, when I started to plan this story, I spend a lot of time trying to think about what might have happened during that time that made Ryo turn out the way he did as well as trying to imagine the circumstances that could have set up events that happened later in the manga itself. So yes, I am speculating a lot in this fic, but I am happy that it continues to fit with the manga for you and that you are enjoying it. :)...As for how Ryo might goof off before long, I think you will see that aspect of his personality show up in this story sooner than you might think. ;) Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this chapter as well.

Chapter Eight—The Confirmation—part one

As Norester and Kaibara walked toward the village, the both of them were filled with a sense of dread over not only what they would find, but also over what Ryo would probably have to experience.

Two weeks previous, Galvez had informed them that there was a horrifying rumor that there was a division of the military who had taken it upon themselves to go on a "cleansing mission" throughout the more isolated fringes of the country. Presumably, their goal was to root out and arrest people who were directly assisting the guerrilla groups in the resistance, but ultimately, what this often meant was that entire villages would be wiped out with no mercy shown to the men, women, and children living there.

After hearing about two villages that had been obliterated, Galvez decided to send troops over to a village several miles away that was acting as a refugee camp for villages that had been destroyed. It had been a week since anyone in the group had heard from them, and Galvez suspected that either this division had visited them as well or would be targeting them soon enough.

During the entire trip over there, neither Norester nor Kaibara could detect anyone following them or any other troop moving toward the village, and they both hoped that that was a good sign. But after parking their jeeps on the outskirts of the village and not finding anyone patrolling the perimeter, they began to fear the worst. They instructed the men to approach cautiously, and as Norester and Kaibara walked up to the entrance of the village, they told Ryo to stay behind them.

"It's odd," Norester said as they walked into an empty courtyard at the heart of the village. "It doesn't really look like anyone has been here, and yet it's weirdly quiet."

"Yes," Kaibara frowned. "It almost seems deserted."

"But it isn't," Ryo murmured behind them. "Someone's here." Norester blinked in surprise, and Kaibara chuckled in response.

"Very good, Ryo," Kaibara said. "You are right. There are people here."

"Geez, how do you two do that?" Norester sighed ruefully. "Seems like I can only sense them if they're out to kill me."

"Maybe Ryo could teach you at some point when you have the time," Kaibara smirked.

"At least he'd be willing to do it," Norester replied. "He's not the type of person who keeps stuff from his partner. Unlike you."

The three of them shared a laugh for a moment as they stopped in the middle of the courtyard and surveyed their surroundings. As the rest of the troop joined them, the tense atmosphere returned.

"Seriously, what is going on here?" Norester said. "Normally, people from this place welcome us with open arms."

Kaibara was about to speak when suddenly he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. He motioned for everyone to prepare themselves, and he and Norester moved toward the front with their rifles drawn and Ryo standing behind them. Seconds later, a couple of men walked toward them with rifles of their own pointed at them.

"Get out of here," one of the men said. "Or we and our men hiding will start firing."

"We mean you no harm," Norester said. "We are not from the government. We work for the resistance, for General Galvez."

"We don't care who you are," the man continued. "Leave this place now."

"Please wait a minute," Norester said. "We're here to help you. We have gotten word that your village may be attacked by a rogue division of the military any day now. If we could just speak to whoever is in charge here, I am sure we could…."

"Enough," the man said as he cocked his rifle. "We want nothing to do with you or with the government. We simply want to be left alone. If you do not leave now, I can't guarantee your safety."

A couple of the men behind Norester readied themselves for a potential battle, and Norester was at a loss as to how to diffuse the situation.

"Wait! Stop!"

Everyone glanced over to see a woman running toward them. She had short hair and was wearing an olive green shirt and khaki slacks.

"But ma'am," the man with the rifle said. "These people…."

"Didn't you hear them, Vilas?" she scolded. "They're not from the government. They're here to protect us from that death squad that destroyed those other villages, you idiot. Now, put down those guns right now."

Vilas and the other man both nodded sheepishly and lowered their rifles, and the woman walked up toward Norester.

"We are grateful for your help," she said. "And we…."

The woman abruptly stopped, her mouth falling open in shock as she looked over at Kaibara.

"Oh my….Shin," she whispered. "Shin, is it really you?"

Kaibara's eyes widened as she spoke to him. She was several years older, and her hair was much shorter than when he last saw her, but there was no mistaking that voice or the eyes that still sparkled with warmth and gentleness.

"Leticia," he murmured.

* * *

A few minutes later, Norester, Ryo, and the rest of the men went to meet with some of the men who were living in the village while Kaibara walked off with Leticia to talk.

"What has it been?" Leticia said. "Almost thirteen years, now? Thirteen years since I last saw you. It almost feels like a lifetime ago."

"Has it really been that long?" Kaibara said, shaking his head sadly. "Sometimes I lose track of time out here. And yet you still look the same as when I last saw you…other than a couple of changes, of course."

"Oh yes," she smiled, reaching up toward her hair. "Well, with the kind of life I live now, it wasn't very practical to have that long hair….And I see you've gotten even taller than you were before."

"The kind of life you live now?" Kaibara echoed. "What do you mean? What is going on here?"

"A few years ago, I started working with a group of people who were running an orphanage in my hometown," she said. "As I am sure you know, this war has left many children without homes or families to take care of them. Over time, I realized that there were many other places that needed our kind of help, so now I belong to a group of volunteers who travel the countryside and help coordinate efforts with other orphanages to find children who need assistance and direct them to places and families where they can be taken care of."

"I see," Kaibara said. "And is that how you ended up here?"

"Yes," Leticia replied. "There are numerous children here with no families, and I am in the process of arranging transport for them to be moved to a larger orphanage near the border."

Leticia's face fell and Kaibara took her hand as they walked.

"We have heard about those butchers from the military," she continued. "And about how they might be targeting this place. Most of the people who could leave have already fled to a neighboring village about three miles from here. The only ones left here are those who were injured and the youngest children and babies who could not make the trip on foot. I, and a few others, decided to stay with them to take care of them. We prayed that the transports from the orphanage would get here before the military does, and we have been living in fear for two weeks now."

"You have nothing to fear now," Kaibara assured her. "We will make sure that all of you are able to evacuate this place peacefully." Leticia smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

"I know," she said. "As soon as I saw you, I knew that everything would be all right."

Leticia blushed and looked down toward the ground, letting Kaibara's hand go. She rushed a little way ahead of him and stopped at the edge of a stream that ran behind the village. Kaibara walked over and stood next to her.

"That time," she said. "After your parents were killed and you disappeared…I cried for weeks. I thought that I would never find out what happened to you. I wish I could tell you how relieved I was when I got your letter two months later."

"I am sorry," Kaibara said. "I did not want to leave you that way, but I…."

"It's all right, I understand," Leticia said. "Your parents were murdered and you were in danger. You did not have a choice."

"It wasn't just me that I was worried about," he insisted.

"I know," Leticia said. "At first, I was hurt, but after I got your letter and had time to think about it, I realized that you were trying to protect me as well."

Leticia smiled at him again and moved closer to him.

"After I started to work out here, with the orphans, I would hear about you once in a while," she said. "I heard about the battles you and your partner fought, the people you helped save from the military's cruelty. There aren't many villages in this part of the country who have not heard at least one tale about the 'Angels of Destruction'."

She reached for one of his hands again and held it in both of hers.

"I know that is what they call you and your friend," Leticia said. "But that is never who you were to me. In my mind, you were still the same Shin Kaibara who always stood his ground and who always fought for what he believed, no matter how difficult the battle."

"And to me, you are still the same Leticia Salazar," he replied. "Who always takes care of the people around her and who does not let a little thing like mortal danger stop her from following her heart."

"It's Leticia Munoz now," she grinned. "But other than that, you are right. Neither of us have changed all that much. Even with all of the years that have passed." The two of them stared into each other's eyes for a moment before clearing their throats nervously.

"Leticia, you know about the kinds of things I did after I left," Kaibara said. "But what about you? I remember what you told me back then. You wanted a family of your own. Did you…did you and your husband…?"

"Did I have that family?" Leticia said with a wistful smile. "Yes and no. My father insisted that I marry, so when I turned eighteen, I ended up married to a man from a family that had long friendship with our family. He was a good, kind person, but the both of us were aware that our hearts were not devoted to our marriage. Unfortunately, he was killed in an auto accident two years later. After that, my father did not pressure me as much to remarry, and it was around that time that I started to work with the orphanage. That has taken up most of my time ever since."

"I'm sorry," Kaibara said.

"Don't be," Leticia replied with a smile. "I've had a chance to help raise many children and make their lives better. To me, they are like my own children, so you see, in a way, I did get a chance to fulfill my dream, to make my own legacy."

Leticia's smile grew as she moved to wrap her arms around one of his.

"Besides, I wasn't interested in building a family with a man that I didn't love," she said.

"Leticia," Kaibara said quietly. He put his arms around her and held her close to him. The two of them stared into each other's eyes.

"_Oyaji? Oyaji, where are you?"_

Both Leticia and Kaibara let out a sigh and turned to see Ryo running toward them. Once Ryo saw what was going on, however, he stopped and looked down at the ground.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I'll go and…."

"No wait, please," Leticia said as she let Kaibara go. "Please come here." Ryo slowly shuffled over to her, and as he approached, Leticia knelt down in front of him.

"What is your name?" she smiled at him. Ryo blushed and did not raise his head.

"Ryo Saeba," he said.

"My name is Leticia Munoz."

"Are you…a friend of…of…?" Ryo asked, hesitant.

"Ryo, it's all right," Kaibara said. "You can be honest around her."

"Are you a friend of _oyaji's_?" Ryo asked.

"Is he your father?" Leticia asked. Ryo nodded slowly, and Leticia laughed and smiled even more.

"Well then yes I am a friend of your father's," she said. "An old friend. I am very pleased to meet you, Ryo Saeba."

"Pleased to meet you," Ryo smiled back shyly.

"Now Ryo, was there something you needed to tell your father?" she asked.

"Um yeah," Ryo said, his face still red as he looked up at Kaibara. "Norester said he needed to talk to you about what we should report to Galvez."

"Tell him that I will meet him back in the courtyard and discuss it with him in a couple of minutes," Kaibara said.

Ryo nodded and took a step back, but paused to stare at Leticia again.

"Was there something else?" Leticia asked. Ryo swallowed hard and blushed again.

"You're really pretty," he blurted out. "You're the prettiest woman I've ever seen." Kaibara could not conceal his surprise at Ryo's words as his eyebrows darted up and his mouth dropped open. Leticia laughed in response.

"Why thank you, Ryo," she replied. "And you are a very charming gentleman."

She then leaned toward Ryo and kissed him on the forehead. Ryo's face turned an even deeper shade of red, and he touched the place where she had kissed him before grinning at her.

"Thank you," he said. "Um, bye."

He then ran off prompting even more laughter from both Kaibara and Leticia.

"He's adorable," she beamed at Kaibara as she stood back up. "I had no idea that you had a child of your own. When did this happen?"

"It is a long story," Kaibara said with a smile of his own.

"I hope that you will tell it to me later tonight," Leticia said. "Over dinner, perhaps."

"I think I can arrange that," Kaibara replied.

* * *

Dinner ended up being plates of rice and chicken eaten next to a fire in one of the huts. Kaibara had brought Ryo with him, and Leticia commented more than once about she did not expect to have to make enough to feed five people instead of three, but despite the extra work, the atmosphere remained a jovial one full of laughter.

A couple of hours after dinner, Ryo fell asleep, and Kaibara picked him up and laid him in a bed that Leticia offered him to use. After tucking him in and watching him for a moment, Kaibara held out his hand, and he and Leticia walked outside.

As they walked, Kaibara explained how Ryo came into his life about five years previous, and by the end of it, he was shocked to see Leticia crying.

"I…I'm sorry," he said. "I did not mean to make you sad."

"Oh no, Shin," she said as she wiped away her tears. "I'm not sad, not at all. I think what you've done, raising that child as your own son, is beautiful. I always knew that you would make a wonderful father, and I am thrilled that you have had a chance to experience that kind of joy."

"Thank you, but I don't know if I have been that good of a father," Kaibara said. "I suppose that I am simply fortunate that Ryo is an exceptional child."

"That is true," Leticia smiled at him. "He has the heart of an angel inside of him. I can see it in his eyes and in his smile." The two of them stopped walking and sat down next to the stream.

"But Shin, do not sell yourself short," she continued. "It is also clear to me that you have taken good care of him. It is obvious in the way that he looks up to you and adores you. Not to mention the fact that he is strong, wise beyond his years, and a playful spirit…all this despite having grown up on the battlefield. That speaks volumes of your abilities as a parent."

Kaibara looked down at the ground with a smile, embarrassed and unable to believe that she had so much faith in his ability to raise Ryo. For years now, he had been convinced that most of how Ryo turned out was entirely due to his own good disposition and that the main thing he had accomplished was teaching Ryo to survive in this environment. He was stunned that she believed that he could have played a role in shaping Ryo's heart.

Leticia moved to sit close to him, and Kaibara wrapped his arms around her.

"I never forgot you," he said. "I thought of you many times throughout the years. I wondered if you were happy, if you were living the kind of life you had dreamed of. Sometimes, I would even imagine how things might have been if I had been able to stay with you."

"I thought about that too," she said as she leaned back against him. "Many times. There were also many times when I would dream of the moment when we could meet again. Of a moment like tonight."

She turned to face him and soon their lips met for a kiss. Both of them were stunned by the end of it, but that astonishment quickly melted away, and they ended up spending much of the rest of the night in each other's arms.

* * *

The next day, Norester left the village early with a couple of men to report back to Galvez that they would be staying until a transport could come to evacuate the remaining people and to bring the Professor back with him to help take care of those who were injured and needed treatment. Galvez approved their decision, hoping that if the rogue division did show up that it would give Norester and Kaibara a chance to decimate their numbers.

Meanwhile, Kaibara coordinated patrols with some of the men of the village along with the remaining members of his troop who had stayed with him. He wasn't entirely sure about the fighting skills of the men from the village, but he was impressed with their determination to protect the children staying here and decided to instruct them as best he could on how to fight the military more effectively.

Leticia was tending to the children who were gathered in the largest house in the village when she spied Ryo walking up to greet her.

"Good morning, Ryo," she smiled at him. "Shouldn't you be helping your father?"

"_Oyaji_ doesn't have anything for me to do right now," Ryo said. "So I thought I'd see if you needed help."

"That is kind of you," she said. "Honestly, I could use another set of hands right now."

Ryo helped her cook meals for the children along with assisting her in feeding them. At one point, Leticia was bottle feeding one of the babies when she saw a couple of the girls, who were three and four years old, sitting near a window start to cry. She thought about getting up to check on them, but Ryo ended up beating her to it. She then watched with a smile as he began to entertain them with all sorts of goofy faces and soon both girls were laughing instead of weeping.

A couple hours later, the children were settled in for naps or were playing quietly and Leticia and Ryo sat at the edge of the main room to watch them.

"Thank you for everything, Ryo," she said. "You are an excellent helper."

"You're welcome," Ryo smiled shyly. Leticia smiled back at him, but then suddenly gasped and collapsed forward in her chair. Ryo grabbed her arm and made sure that she did not slide down onto the floor.

"Are you all right?" he asked, his eyes wide with worry.

"I'm fine, I just need a moment," Leticia said. She held her head for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and sitting upright again. She then put an arm around Ryo and kissed the top of his head. Relieved and happy, Ryo grinned and scooted over to sit even closer to her.

"Um… Miss Munoz?" he said.

"Leticia is fine," she told him.

"Leticia," he said. "You said that you were friends with _oyaji_, right? Were you just friends or were you, um, more than friends?"

"And what do you know about things like that?" she asked him coyly. Ryo turned bright red and looked down at his feet.

"Um, Norester told me that sometimes men and women are more than just friends," he said. "That sometimes men and women love each other, stay together and sometimes have children. My friend, the Professor, told me more about that too, but I'm not allowed to tell _oyaji_ or anyone else about what he said."

"Well your friends are not wrong about all of that," Leticia replied. "And to answer your question, I loved your father very much. In fact, I still do."

"Then, why didn't you stay together?" Ryo asked.

"I think he should be the one to explain to you why we had to separate," Leticia said. "But I will say this: sometimes love means putting the other person ahead of yourself, even if that means breaking your own heart and walking away from the one you love." Leticia then stroked Ryo's cheek and stared into his eyes.

"Ryo, listen to me," she said. "I know that Shin is not always open with his feelings, but you should know that you are very dear to him."

"I guess so," Ryo said softly, shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, I know that he takes care of me as if I am his son, but sometimes I…."

"No, no guessing about it," Leticia insisted. "I am sure that there are times when he might seem cold, distant or purely professional in your upbringing, but you need to know that underneath all of that is a warm, caring heart, a heart that is always struggling to know what is best for you. Trust me, I know Shin well enough to know that it was not a small thing for him to decide to be your father."

Leticia then leaned close to him and placed her hands on either side of his face, making sure that he looked up at her.

"I need you to promise me that you won't forget any of that," she said. "And I need you to promise me that you will be there for your father when he needs you."

"When he needs me?" Ryo repeated his tone quizzical. "But _oyaji_ is the strongest person in our troop. He doesn't need anyone."

"All of us need someone, Ryo," Leticia said. "Even the strongest person you know will eventually need someone to take care of him. And I am asking you to please be ready to offer that care when the time comes."

"I promise," Ryo said. "All that stuff you said. I promise that I'll do it."

"Thank you," she smiled at him. She then embraced him, and Ryo snuggled as close as he could to her while closing his eyes and letting out a contented sigh.

"I wish that you and _oyaji_ could stay together now," he whispered. "Then I could stay with both of you all the time."

Leticia loosened her hold on him, and Ryo looked up to see that her eyes were filled with sadness, despite the smile on her face. He was about to ask her what was wrong when Vilas walked into the hut.

"Ma'am, sorry to interrupt," he said. "But we're having problem with the patrols."

"What kind of problem?" Leticia asked as she stood up.

"It's Pena and Saborio again," Vilas replied. "Now they're arguing over who should be in charge of the north perimeter."

"Those idiots," she sighed. "Vilas, stay here with the children while I go talk to them."

Leticia stood up and stormed outside with Ryo following her. Eventually they found Kaibara glaring at a pair of men who were arguing in front of him.

"Pena! Saborio!" Leticia said, raising her voice at them. Both men immediately stopped arguing and flinched at the angry look on her face.

"When are you two going to start acting like men instead of children," she snapped at them. "Kaibara is trying to help us defend our village, and here you are arguing over petty things yet again."

Both Pena and Saborio cowered as she continued to lecture them. During this, Ryo stood next to Kaibara, and Norester, having just returned from talking with Galvez, joined them to watch the spectacle.

"Leticia is… scary when she is mad," Ryo said nervously.

"She can be," Kaibara smirked. "Fortunately, I was usually smart enough to avoid making her angry."

"Yeah, a woman's anger can be a scary thing, Ryo," Norester laughed, a bead of sweat rolling off his forehead. "Don't ever forget that."

"Mister Norester, Mister Kaibara."

Leticia stopped, and all of them looked to see another man from the village running toward them.

"What is it, Laosa?" she asked. Laosa stopped once he reached them and leaned forward, panting.

"The…the other village," he gasped out. "I was walking around the perimeter when I saw smoke rising into the sky. Then one of the women who fled there, Maria, she staggered out of the jungle, bleeding from a wound in her chest. She…She told me that the village was on fire."

"Oh God," Leticia said, putting a hand to her mouth. "It must be them. The military."

"All of you stay here," Norester ordered. "Kaibara and I will take some of our men to the village."

"Ryo, stay here and take care of Leticia," Kaibara said.

"No, I am going with you," Leticia insisted. "These people are my friends. Some of them took their children with them. I am not going to just stay here and do nothing."

"Leticia," Kaibara said. He was about to say more when she held up a hand to silence him.

"Do not worry about me, Shin," she said. She then pulled a small pistol out of the jacket she was wearing and showed it to him.

"I learned how to use this while traveling in the jungle," she said. "I'm not as good of a shot as you, but I've never had any problems defending myself."

"All right then," Kaibara said. "But make sure to stay close to me and Ryo at all times."

* * *

Soon a small band of people rushed through the jungle toward the billowing clouds of smoke that were rising toward the sky. As they approached the village both Kaibara and Norester motioned at everyone else to slow down and proceed cautiously.

"I don't sense any soldiers around here," Norester said. "I suppose we could consider that a good sign."

"We could," Kaibara frowned. "Unless that just means that they have nothing left to do here."

Norester's expression became grim as he nodded in agreement and led the group into the village. Once there were there, Norester was forced to admit that Kaibara had been correct in his assessment.

The first thing that greeted them was smoke which continued to drift from the ruins of the huts in the village. There were no active fires to speak of mainly because the fire had already consumed most of the buildings present.

As the smoke cleared, both Kaibara and Norester winced as they realized that the ground was littered with bodies. Some of them were completely intact other than a bullet wound to the head or chest, but others had been mutilated or burned by fire.

Norester instructed the men to spread out and look for survivors, but he and Kaibara were already certain that there wouldn't be any. The two of them continued to look around, disgusted by the savagery that had been used.

Leticia walked around in a daze, her eyes clouded with tears as she took in the sights around her. Eventually she came upon a set of corpses near one of the huts and let out a strangled cry when she realized that they were the remains of children who had been slaughtered ruthlessly.

"Oh God," she cried. "Why? Why did they do this? They were just children."

Leticia trembled, her legs shaking, and Kaibara immediately rushed over and held her in his arms, guiding her toward an area away from the corpses. Once she was there, she started to sink to the ground, and Kaibara maintained his hold on her while turning her toward him so she could bury her face against his chest.

"Oh Shin," she cried. "It's…it's…."

"I know," Kaibara said, as he held her. "I am so sorry, Leticia."

Norester took in this sad sight for a moment before looking around and noticing that Ryo was walking around with a blank expression on his face. He paused in front of the body of a woman who had been badly burned by the fire, and Norester felt sick at the way Ryo's eyes became empty as he stared at her. He walked over and grabbed Ryo by the arm, shaking him slightly.

"Ryo? Come on, Ryo, snap out of it," Norester said. "Listen, you don't need to keep looking at stuff like this. You should go guard the entrance to the village instead."

But Ryo said nothing and squirmed out of Norester's grip before resuming his slow, aimless pace. He showed no signs of awareness of Norester's voice, and Norester became increasingly agitated at his lack of responsiveness.

"Kaibara!" Norester shouted. "Something is wrong with Ryo."

Both Kaibara and Leticia looked up and sprang to their feet. They rushed over toward Norester to see what was going on, and the both of them gasped at the way Ryo wandered around like a zombie, his face devoid of any emotion.

"_Ryo," _Kaibara said, marching swiftly toward him. "_Speak to me. What is wrong?"_

Ryo finally stopped and looked up at him, his eyes dull and unfocused.

"_Oyaji…they're all dead. All of them," _he said. Kaibara knelt down in front of him and carefully put his hands on Ryo's shoulders.

"_I know," _Kaibara said.

"_It's just like before," _Ryo said, his voice hollow. "_They were all dead. Some of them were burned. Some of them were bleeding. All of them were dead…except for me."_

Kaibara's eyes widened as he realized that Ryo was talking about the day the plane he was on crashed in the jungle. He then imagined that the aftermath of that must have looked a lot like the scene in front of them now.

"_They're all dead again," _Ryo continued. "_All except me."_

"_No, no it is not the same, musuko," _Kaibara insisted. "_You are not alone. I am here with you."_ He then pulled Ryo closer to him and drew him into his arms. Ryo responded by falling forward and collapsing against him. Leticia walked over and joined Kaibara on the ground.

"Shin, what is wrong?" she asked.

"He's in shock," Kaibara explained. "This is reminding him too much of the plane crash, the one that brought him here."

"Ryo," she said gently, stroking his hair. "It's all right."

"No, no it isn't," Ryo insisted. "They're all dead and they're never coming back."

"You're right, they won't," Leticia said somberly. "But we are still here. And as long as there is life, there is hope."

Leticia then held out her arms toward him, and Ryo moved to embrace her tightly. Kaibara then enveloped the two of them into his arms. As he held them, rage began to build inside him. He looked up to see the same rage mirrored in Norester's eyes as well, and they shared a nod of understanding.

'_Leticia…Ryo…this will not go unpunished. The people who did this will pay for what they have done. I promise.'_


	9. The Confirmation-part two

Author's Note: Next chapter. There will be one more section to this part of the story after this, and then I will be starting on another three-part section which covers an important moment from this time period in Ryo's life that was mentioned in the manga...

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

Chapter Nine—The Confirmation—part two

After an unsuccessful search for survivors, Norester led everyone back to the village and sent Escota back to Galvez to report on what had happened. He then checked on Maria, who had escaped the attack and was dismayed to find out from the Professor that she had died a couple of hours ago.

Meanwhile, Kaibara and Leticia spent the rest of the evening taking care of Ryo. They managed to get him to eat a few bites of dinner, but after that Ryo would only stare silently at the walls of Leticia's hut. Eventually, he fell asleep while nestled between Kaibara and Leticia, who were sitting on the bed and leaning against the wall behind them.

"Shin, I'm worried about him," she said, stroking Ryo's back while he slept.

"As am I," Kaibara frowned. "Sadly, this is far from the first time he has gone through a trauma like this. But I also know that he is very strong. I believe that he will recover."

"You're probably right," she said. "Still, it's so painful to watch him be like this. I can't imagine how it is for you." Kaibara let out a sigh and tousled Ryo's hair.

"It can be difficult, yes," he said. "But then there are many other times when it's actually Ryo who manages to bring some cheer to our lives."

"I guess I forget sometimes how hard it must be for people like you or your friend Norester, living in the middle of this war, spending so much time on the battlefield," Leticia said. "I can see how having Ryo around would make things a little brighter." She then yawned and leaned against Kaibara.

"You should get some sleep," he told her. He started to move off the bed when Leticia grabbed his arm.

"Please Shin, don't go," she said. "Please stay with me, with us. We both need you tonight." Kaibara hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and pulled a blanket up over the three of them.

"All right," he said. "Although, I don't know if this will be a very comfortable way to sleep."

"Honestly, I think it's the only way either I or Ryo will be able to get any rest tonight," Leticia said, snuggling up against him. Kaibara smiled and held her closer while the both of them draped an arm over Ryo and closed their eyes.

* * *

The next morning, Kaibara woke up early and left Ryo and Leticia asleep in the bed so he could sit outside and smoke a cigarette. He continued to mull over the events from yesterday and found that he still held a smoldering anger toward the people who had massacred everyone in the neighboring village.

'_Same as always,' _he told himself. '_The ones who think they are strong prey on the weak to prove something to themselves…all while never realizing that they are the ones who are truly weak.'_

Kaibara took a long drag on his cigarette and blew out a cloud of smoke when a sound from behind him caught his attention. He then smiled when he realized what it was.

"_Good morning musuko," _he said without turning around. "_Are you feeling any better?" _Ryo sat down beside him and pulled his knees close to his chest.

"_Hi oyaji," _he said. "_I feel a little better, I guess."_

"_That is good," _Kaibara nodded. "_Hopefully that trend will continue."_

"_I'm sorry about how I acted," _Ryo said. "_I know that, as a soldier, I need to get used to things like that."_

"_To be honest, Ryo, you probably never will get completely used to it," _Kaibara said. "_Nor would I ever want you to. So do not feel the need to punish yourself for how you reacted."_ Ryo nodded and the two of them watched the sun continue to rise for a few moments in silence.

"_Oyaji."_

"_Yes?"_

"_Last night…after what happened in the village, I kept thinking about the crash and about my parents," _Ryo said.

"_It reminded you of how you miss them?" _Kaibara asked.

"_No. It made me think about how I can barely remember them anymore," _Ryo murmured. "_Yesterday, I was helping Leticia take care of the kids, and there were a couple of girls who were crying for their mother. And I thought about how I barely remember my own mother. I think I still remember the sound of her voice, but that's it. And my father, I remember him even less. And then when I saw all those people…all those people who were dead…I kept thinking about how I was alone after the crash and about how I didn't have a name or anything else, and I…I didn't feel like a person anymore."_

Kaibara's eyes became downcast and he tossed his cigarette aside and put an arm around Ryo's shoulders.

"_But you know that that is not the truth, right?" _he asked Ryo. "_You do know that you are just as much of a person as I am, as Leticia and Norester are?"_

"_I guess, maybe," _Ryo shrugged. "_But…sometimes I just don't feel that way. Not when I think about how I ended up here, about what happened to my parents, and about all the ways that I'm not like you or Norester or anyone else here."_

Kaibara moved his arm away and turned to face the horizon. He knew what he needed to say, but that did not make the words any easier to speak aloud.

"_Ryo… I did not have the kind of childhood that you have now," _he said. "_But I do understand some of what you are feeling."_

Ryo looked up at Kaibara, who was still looking off into the distance, and waited patiently for him to continue.

"_I grew up in Japan, but my father brought me and my mother here when I was twelve," _Kaibara said. "_And the reason he did that was because he was a greedy, selfish man who refused to live any semblance of an honest life. Even though he and his family had been threatened more than once, he continued to live recklessly and showed no loyalty to anything other than his own ambitions. Then one day, his deeds caught up with him and he and my mother were murdered. I was fortunate enough to escape with my life, but on that day, I lost all of the family I had in the world."_

Ryo's eyes grew wide as Kaibara told him this and he put a hand on Kaibara's knee.

"_Oyaji….is that why you had to leave Leticia? Because of the people who killed your parents?"_

"_Yes," _Kaibara replied. "_I was sixteen at the time and had just killed the man who had murdered my parents and who was going to kill me. I was aware that the people who sent someone to execute my entire family could send more people to kill me because of what I did. I knew that I would need to run for my life and that I could not risk getting Leticia involved. That is why I left her and never returned."_

Kaibara paused and ran a hand over his face before continuing.

"_You see, Ryo, I do understand what it means to be an orphan in a strange land," _he said. "_To lose both of your parents in a horrific way. To feel like you are alone in a violent world that does not care if you live or die. I know that my experience does not compare with what you went through or with the things that you continue to grapple with, but I can relate to the sense of separation that you are feeling to some extent."_

"_Do you miss them?" _Ryo asked. "_Do you miss your parents?"_

"_Once in a great while, yes," _Kaibara said. "_There are times when I think about my mother and I wish that she had had a happier life. My father…I try to think about him as little as possible, but then there are times when I remember that I do have a few happy memories of him. Of times when he tried to be a better father than he usually was."_

Ryo looked down at the ground, unsure of what he should say or do at this point. He had often wondered how Kaibara had come to live in this part of the world, but he had not suspected that his father had had such a turbulent childhood. His thoughts were soon interrupted though by Kaibara patting his shoulders and finally looking back down at him.

"_The point that I am trying to make is that things like that, circumstances in your life and in your past that you had no control over, are not what defines you," _Kaibara continued. "_What defines you is how you choose to live your life both now and in the future. And what makes you human, Ryo, is the heart inside of you, the one that continues to guide your actions, not superficial things like how you got your name or what your family history is. Do you understand?"_

"_I understand," _Ryo nodded. Kaibara smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder one last time before looking back up at the morning sky. Ryo shifted to face the same direction and rested his head on his knees as he watched the clouds drift away from the rising sun.

A few feet away, Leticia stood in the doorway of her hut, a smile on her face. She wasn't able to understand a word of what was said, but she was certain that she understood the sentiments and emotions that had passed between them.

* * *

After sharing some coffee with Leticia and Ryo, Norester and Kaibara met with the rest of the men to discuss the status of their mission and to give them their assignments for the day. As the men walked away, the two of them leaned against the hood of one of the jeeps.

"There's something you need to know," Norester said. "When I reported to Galvez yesterday, he told me about a rumor he had just heard about this death squad. Apparently, the leader, Captain Maceno, has someone who is feeding him information so they can avoid the resistance forces during these attacks. Someone who apparently has a grudge against you in particular."

"A grudge against me?" Kaibara echoed. "Interesting."

"Yeah, that's what I thought you'd say," Norester smirked. "So tell me, have you got any idea about who it could be?"

"Hard to say. I do have a rather long list of people who would like to see me dead," Kaibara smirked back.

"Again, I thought you'd say that," Norester chortled. "What I'm asking is, does anyone who would go to these kinds of lengths spring to mind?"

"To be honest, no," Kaibara frowned. "At least, not immediately."

"Well, anyway, I thought that you should be aware of this, just in case," Norester said. "Especially right now with you catching up with your old flame."

"I knew that it would only be a matter of time before you started on that," Kaibara sighed.

"Hey, I can't say that I blame you," Norester chuckled. "She is definitely a vision. Hell, if I didn't have Sophie and Mary in my life, I'd be tempted to go after her myself."

The sound of laughter behind them caused both Norester and Kaibara to turn around to see Leticia walking toward them with a basket on one arm and Ryo on the other. Both of them noted the large grin on Ryo's face and the way he held onto Leticia's arm, and Norester poked Kaibara's arm with his elbow.

"As it is, I think you've already got enough competition to worry about," Norester snickered. "The kid is turning into quite the Casanova, isn't he?"

"I'm afraid that he has been associating far too much with you and the Professor here of late," Kaibara said, shaking his head. "And as a result he is picking up all sorts of bad habits."

Both Kaibara and Norester shared another laugh as Leticia and Ryo walked up to them.

"Shin, Mister Norester," Leticia smiled at them. "Ryo and I are finished with the children for now, and since none of us had much for breakfast this morning, I was wondering if you two would like to join us for a picnic lunch."

"I guess that is my cue to leave," Norester said. "Kaibara, I'll catch up with you later so we can go over some strategies for when our opponents show up."

"Ryo and I will join you in a couple hours," Kaibara nodded.

"You are welcome to join us, Mister Norester," Leticia insisted. "I made plenty."

"Thank you, but I have feeling that it would be safer for me to back out of this invitation," Norester smiled as he continued to walk away. "Maybe next time."

"Safer?" Leticia said. "What does he mean by that, Shin?"

"Ignore him," Kaibara said. "He just likes to hear himself speak. Instead, let's focus on finding a place to enjoy our meal."

* * *

A few minutes later, Kaibara, Leticia, and Ryo were sitting on the ground behind a cluster of the huts at the edge of the village. Between the three of them, the food that Leticia had prepared was swiftly devoured, and soon Kaibara and Leticia ended up leaning against the wall of one of the huts and watching Ryo explore the area around them.

"That squad is going to come here soon enough," Kaibara told her. "Right now, they are transporting and dividing up any spoils they were able to get from the other village. But they will be done with that in a day or two at the most and then they will come here next. You will have to be ready."

"I understand," Leticia said. "These last couple of weeks has given me a lot of time to think of some ways to take care of things when that happens. I am just grateful that all of you are here and that we have a chance now."

"I don't suppose that there is any way that I could convince you to accompany a couple of my men back to my village," Kaibara said. "Just until the battle is over."

"And leave the children behind?" Leticia asked. "You know me better than that, Shin."

"I do, but I had to try," Kaibara said.

"And I appreciate the effort," Leticia replied with a smile. "But I'm not worried, not with you and Ryo here to protect me."

Kaibara smiled back at her and put his arms around her as she leaned back against his chest. They then heard the faint sound of giggling and looked to see Ryo staring at them from a short distance away. He then waved at them and disappeared into the jungle nearby. Once he was gone, Leticia laughed and put her hands over Kaibara's.

"You were right," she said. "You were right about how strong Ryo is. After you left this morning, Ryo worked hard to help me and to raise the spirits of the children. I am sure that he still has some of the same painful feelings that I do about yesterday, and yet, he didn't let those feelings stop him from helping however he could. Still…."

Leticia let her head fall back onto Kaibara's shoulder, and Kaibara couldn't help but notice the melancholic look in her eyes.

"Still, the more time I spend around Ryo, the more I begin to think that that smile of his is not just something that he has when he is happy," she continued. "It's almost as if it's a sort of armor for him, an armor to shield him from a world that often threatens to overwhelm him."

Kaibara silently nodded in agreement. There had been many times when he had also suspected that Ryo sometimes chose to smile as a way to cope with all of the sorrowful and terrorizing things in his life as opposed to only smiling when he felt joy. There were times when Kaibara worried over being able to tell the difference between when Ryo was actually happy and when he was just pretending, but he found some solace in the idea that, no matter what, Ryo did not let the tragedies of his life or the horrors of war crush his spirit.

Leticia turned toward Kaibara and they touched their foreheads together before sharing a kiss. As soon as it was over, Leticia's eyes slipped shut and she let out a sigh before drooping down toward the ground. Startled by her sudden lethargy, Kaibara held her closer and tilted her face toward his.

"Leticia! Are you all right?" he asked. Leticia put a hand to her face and took a deep breath before sitting up on her own again.

"I'm fine," she said as she opened her eyes. "I'm just a little tired is all."

"You should have the Professor examine you," Kaibara frowned. "To make sure that it is nothing serious."

"Shin, it's nothing, really," Leticia smiled at him. "It's just... with what happened yesterday and with the way we have all have had to worry every moment about the military coming here for the last couple of weeks…it's been very draining for me."

"Understandable," Kaibara replied. "But in that case, I ask that you do not strain yourself unnecessarily. If you need any help with your duties here, feel free to ask for assistance from either me or Ryo."

"But you and Ryo have done so much already, I don't want to be a bother and…." Kaibara placed a finger on her lips to silence her.

"And I know that you know me better than to say something like that," he said. "You could never be a bother to me, Leticia…And I am confident that Ryo feels the same as I do."

"_Oyaji_, Leticia, is everything ok?"

Kaibara and Leticia looked up to see Ryo walking toward them with his hands behind his back and with concern in his eyes.

"Everything is fine, Ryo," Kaibara answered. "Leticia was just explaining to me that she might need some more help in her daily activities from time to time, and I was telling her that we would be glad to lend a hand."

"Of course," Ryo nodded vigorously. "Don't worry, Leticia. Me and _oyaji _are here for you. And, here….this is for you too."

Ryo grinned as he moved his hands from behind his back and held out a handful of wildflowers toward her. Leticia beamed at him, and took them from him. She held them close to her face so she could take in their fragrance.

"They're lovely," she said. "Thank you, Ryo." She held out a hand toward him, and Ryo took it and let her guide him to sit next to her. Once he was there, Ryo leaned against her, and Leticia put an arm around both him and Kaibara.

"I am a very lucky woman," she said. "To have not just one, but two handsome, chivalrous gentlemen in my life."

Leticia rested her head against Kaibara's shoulder, and both he and Ryo put their arms around her. The three of them then ended up silently holding each other for most of the afternoon.

* * *

The next day, Kaibara and Ryo met up with Norester early in the morning and the three of them were getting ready to discuss the latest news from Galvez when Dopazo and Vilas ran up to them.

"Norester, sir," Dopazo said. "Enemy troops have been spotted on the edge of the south perimeter."

"Get more men over there, but make sure to keep people around the rest of the perimeter," Norester ordered as he reached for his rifle. Norester then looked back at Kaibara and they shared a nod before Norester ran off with Vilas and Dopazo. Once he was gone, Kaibara grabbed a rifle and checked it before handing it to Ryo.

"_Find Leticia," _he told Ryo. "_Make sure that she and the children are safe."_

"_I will," _Ryo nodded before running off. Kaibara then picked up a rifle for himself and pulled out his Magnum to check it before putting it back in its holster and running after Norester.

'_Captain Maceno…you made a grave error when you decided to cross the path of the Angels of Destruction…'_

* * *

Meanwhile, Leticia heard the sound of gunfire and men shouting from her hut and immediately ran toward the hut where the children were staying. As she approached the door, she heard someone calling her name.

"Leticia," Ryo yelled, waving an arm at her. "Get inside."

"Where is Shin?" she replied.

"Don't worry," Ryo said as he ran toward the door. "_Oyaji _and Norester are taking care of those guys from the military."

Leticia and Ryo rushed into the hut, and Ryo shut the door behind them. Leticia then opened a trapdoor in the floor and began to help the children into a crawlspace underneath, with a couple of the older children taking the babies into their arms as they went. She was about to join them when she realized that someone was missing.

"Isabel?" she said. "Isabel, where are you?"

Leticia closed the trapdoor and covered it with a small mat before frantically searching the rest of the hut for Isabel. She soon realized, however, that Isabel was not anywhere inside the hut.

"She must have gone outside to play near the stream," Leticia said to herself. "She loves going there…Oh God, if those butchers find her, they'll…she…."

Leticia dashed out the door, and Ryo yelled at her again before running after her. Despite the fact that Ryo ran as fast as he could, Leticia was able to sprint past him. Moments later she arrived at the stream and found Isabel crouched next to it, sobbing, her hands covering her face.

"It's all right, Isabel," Leticia said as she crouched down to pick her up. "I'm here. Now, let's go back to join the others." Isabel nodded and clung to her as Leticia rose to her feet. Once she was there, however, a pair of soldiers burst out from the jungle.

"Looks like we hit the jackpot, Luiz," one of them said with a leer. "Hey, pretty lady, don't worry…we'll make sure you have some fun before you die."

"Stay away from us, you pigs," Leticia spat, cradling the child in her arms closer to her.

"Looks like we need to teach you some manners," Luiz scowled. "And we'll start with that kid you've got there."

Leticia took a couple of steps back, her body shaking with fear while her expression remained defiant. Suddenly gunfire erupted from behind the men, and they collapsed into a heap in front of her. She then looked to see Ryo standing nearby, smoke rising from his rifle. Leticia opened her mouth to thank him, but then she stopped when she saw the look in Ryo's eyes.

'_It's…it's as if he's a different person now,' _she thought to herself. '_This isn't the playful, sweet Ryo who I know. Even though he is a child, he has the look of a soldier, of someone who is well acquainted with the battlefield.'_

'_Just like Shin.'_

"Come on, hurry," Ryo shouted, breaking her reverie. "We need to get out of here before more of them show up."

Leticia nodded and lowered Isabel back down to the ground so that the three of them could run back toward the hut. As they ran, Leticia quickly became short of breath and Isabel and Ryo were able to get far ahead of her. Soon they reached the hut, and Ryo had opened the door and pushed Isabel inside. Leticia was about to join them when a pair of hands grabbed her from behind.

"Let me go," she screamed as a man yanked her back against him. The man laughed in response, and Leticia then felt the muzzle of a gun press up against her temple.

"Shut up," the man sniggered at her. Ryo ran up to them, his rifle in pointed their way, and the man pushed Leticia to stand in front of him.

"Let her go," Ryo ordered as he aimed the rifle at the man's head. As soon as the words left his lips, however, the sound of laughter rang out again, this time from behind one of the huts. Ryo's jaw dropped open when the source of the laughter walked out into the open and he realized who it was.

"Escovado," Ryo croaked out. Escovado laughed again in response.

"I see you still remember me, Saeba," he said. "Although this time, I'm not the one who's going to be begging for mercy. Now, throw your rifle and your Magnum onto the ground or Juan here will have to shoot your friend."

"Ryo, don't do it," Leticia shouted at him. "Get out of here. Save yourself."

"I said to shut up," Juan said as he struck Leticia across the face. Leticia cried out in pain, and Ryo's face twisted in anger even as tears stung his eyes.

"Well, what is it going to be, Saeba?" Escovado sneered at him. Ryo gritted his teeth for a moment more before slumping his shoulders in defeat and throwing his rifle and his Magnum a couple feet away from him.

"You moron," Escovado cackled. "I see that Kaibara did not teach you the first rule of combat which is to worry about your own skin first and foremost."

Escovado snapped his fingers and Juan hit Leticia again, knocking her out, before tossing her to the ground. Ryo bunched his hands into fists and started to rush over to retrieve his gun, but before he could, Juan pounced on him and lifted him off the ground. Ryo tried to wriggle free, but Juan punched him in the stomach and Ryo fell limp in his grasp, his breath nearly taken away. Escovado then walked over and pulled at his hair so that Ryo would be forced to look him in the eye.

"Now," he grinned. "Let's go find Kaibara. I have some unfinished business with him."


	10. The Confirmation-part three

Author's Note: Next chapter. I hope to have updates for this and my other two projects this week, but I can't promise anything since final exams are this week. We will have to see how things go. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

**Eve: **Thank you for the review as always. :) That to me is really the challenge of this fic: trying to imagine both Ryo and Kaibara from around this time since Ryo was a child who was growing into the person we see in the anime and manga, and Kaibara was a different person himself at this point in time (not to mention the fact that Bloody Mary's father was mentioned, but never even named in the anime or manga!). But it's been a fun challenge, and I think that as this fic continues on, you will see more and more of the Ryo we know and love from the City Hunter timeline. :) Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this next long chapter as well.

Chapter Ten—The Confirmation—part three

Kaibara smirked to himself as he emptied the shells from his Magnum onto the ground and reloaded.

After meeting up for a brief moment near the south perimeter he and Norester split up, the both of them taking down multiple soldiers in rapid succession. As he watched some soldiers fall and other ones retreat from him, a sardonic grin appeared on Kaibara's face.

'_Same as always,' _he thought. '_The only reason sadistic thugs like these appear strong is because they choose weak targets. Once someone who is actually strong stands up to them, their true natures appear.'_

Two more men ran out from a clearing in the jungle, and Kaibara whirled around and shot them both within seconds of their appearance. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another soldier watching him and was about to turn toward him, but then the soldier visibly gulped and ran in the opposite direction.

'_A wise decision,' _Kaibara chuckled to himself.

A wisp of smoke drifted in front of him, and Kaibara glanced to see a group of soldiers setting fire to some of the huts.

"Dopazo, Perez," he shouted. "Get some men to put those fires out now, before they spread."

Kaibara watched Dopazo and Perez run off and suddenly he felt a surge of murderous intent from a short distance away. He leapt for cover besides one of the huts and watched as another soldier, who had a machete at his hip and a pistol in his hand, race by him.

'_This one is different,'_ Kaibara told himself. '_He's not just following orders or satisfying some need to prove himself. He is hunting, hunting for prey.'_

'_It must be him…Captain Maceno.'_

The hut Kaibara was standing next to had a couple of flames starting to curl around its foundation, but Kaibara was beyond noticing it, his senses focused on Maceno and the aura surrounding him. Suddenly, Maceno disappeared into the jungle, and Kaibara was about to pursue him when another presence caught his attention.

'_Ryo? But why? You were supposed to stay with Leticia….'_

"Come out, Kaibara," a voice boomed from a few feet around. "Or I will blow Saeba's brains out."

Kaibara grimaced as he recognized the person the voice belonged to and walked out into the open. There he found Escovado standing next to a large man who had Ryo in his grip. The both of them had a gun pointed at one of Ryo's temples.

"So, Kaibara, what now?" Escovado sniggered. "You may be the best shot in the entire country, but even you can't take both of us out. Not before one of us shoots your precious Saeba in the head. Now, throw away your rifle or else."

Kaibara frowned and dropped his rifle to the ground. Escovado grinned for a moment, but that grin quickly disappeared when he saw Kaibara pull out his Magnum instead and point it at him.

"What are you doing?" Escovado yelled. "Didn't you hear what I said? I will kill him."

"Escovado," Kaibara said. "If you think that I will allow myself to get killed by the likes of you, you are gravely mistaken. Now, let Ryo go and I will consider letting you live."

"Shut up," Escovado shouted. "You are in no position to give me orders." Escovado then smiled again and moved closer to Juan while rubbing the muzzle of his gun along the side of Ryo's face.

"Maybe you'll think twice about what you're doing when I start blowing away pieces of your boy here," he said. "There's lots of ways I could shoot him without actually killing him."

Escovado moved closer to Ryo and shoved the gun under his chin, forcing Ryo to tilt his face up toward him.

"Do you know how much I suffered after that bastard shot me?" he told Ryo. "My right hand barely works most of the time and there are nights when it feels like it the bones are twisting around in there. Maybe I should shoot one of your hands, just so you'll know what it feels like."

Ryo swallowed hard and trembled before closing his eyes for a moment. When he re-opened them, Escovado blinked in surprise at the calm, detached look there, and Kaibara smiled at Ryo's determination to keep his composure.

"You have no right to complain about how much you suffered," Kaibara said. "Not after you sold your soul to these animals. Do you ever think about how many innocent people have been killed as part of your selfish need for vengeance?"

"It's your fault," Escovado screeched as he turned back toward Kaibara. "All I know is to be a mercenary or a soldier. After you shot me, I couldn't find a way to feed myself and I almost starved at one point. That is, until I met Juan here. He helped me learn to shoot with my other hand and we struggled together as mercenaries for hire before joining Captain Maceno's group. The way I see it, all that blood is on your hands."

"Enough of your excuses," Kaibara said. "Let Ryo go now while you still have a chance to survive."

"Ha, if I die, I'll take Saeba with me," Escovado said. "Are you saying that you are ok with that?"

"I am saying that you are forgetting one of the most important rules of battle," Kaibara replied with a smirk.

"Oh, and what's that?" Escovado asked.

"Never lose sight of the battle at hand," Kaibara said, his smile growing. "Or you will miss the danger all around you."

Escovado was about to ask what he meant by that when a shot rang out and Juan grunted painfully while loosening his hold on Ryo. Ryo took advantage of the situation and delivered a sharp kick to Juan's groin and wriggled free out of his arms. Ryo then ran over to Kaibara, and Kaibara guided Ryo to stand behind him. Escovado spun toward the sound of the gunshot and saw Norester standing there, his pistol drawn and a smile on his face.

"It's about time you showed up," Kaibara chuckled. "I thought that I was going to have to listen to this idiot all day."

"You know me," Norester grinned. "I got distracted by the usual things. I never could stick to a schedule."

"You!" Escovado growled as he pointed his gun at Norester. Before he could pull the trigger, however, Kaibara fired, striking Escovado's left hand and causing him to drop to his knees while screaming in pain.

"Did he actually forget about you?" Norester said as he moved to stand next to Kaibara. "Amazing. I know that I can't ever forget about you being around."

"This is why it's better to work with a partner," Kaibara smirked. "So that you'll always have someone to act a distraction when needed…Ryo, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Ryo said in a tiny voice while reaching over to grab the corner of Kaibara's jacket. Kaibara looked back at him for a long second before nodding and turning his attention back toward Escovado. Norester was certain that there had been far more to that exchange than what could be seen on the surface, but decided that it was better not to pry.

Norester's levity soon disappeared as he watched Kaibara's expression go from a smirk to completely impassive. Kaibara reached down and removed Ryo's hand from his jacket and walked toward Escovado, who was still collapsed on the ground, wailing in agony.

"I warned you once before about what would happen if you ever went near Ryo again," he said. "And yet you chose not to listen to me."

"Go to hell, Kaibara," Escovado spat at him.

"Not before you," Kaibara replied. "You made perhaps the single biggest error of your life when you decided to cross me a second time. It is time for you to pay for that error."

Escovado stole a glance at Kaibara and whimpered when he saw the look in Kaibara's eyes. He had expected Kaibara to look enraged or tense over what had just happened to Ryo, who was clearly important to him, but instead, there was no trace of any emotion on his face. All that was there was the intent to kill and what could almost be called boredom, as if killing him would be no different than swatting an insect.

"Now, I think I heard you tell me that there were lots of ways you could shoot Ryo without actually killing him," Kaibara continued. "How about we try that experiment on you?"

Escovado cried out and started to try to crawl away, but Kaibara hit him with a spinning kick to the head, causing him to fall back onto the ground. Kaibara then drew closer, his aim traveling all over Escovado's body.

Norester put a hand on Ryo's shoulder and gently guided him back behind him. He had seen that look in Kaibara's eyes only a couple of other times in his life, and each time it had appeared, Kaibara had been beyond anyone's reach. This look meant that the killer in Kaibara had taken over and Norester knew that there was little chance of holding him back.

"Shin! Shin, stop this!"

Everyone looked to see Leticia walking toward them, her eyes bright with tears.

"Leticia," Kaibara said, his voice low and cold. "This man is responsible for the deaths of everyone in that village, not to mention countless deaths elsewhere. He is not worthy of any sort of mercy."

"I understand," Leticia said. "I understand that he needs to pay for what he did. But not this way. " She moved even closer to him, and Kaibara flinched at the fiery glint in her eyes.

"You are supposed to be a soldier, a man who defends others. Not a monster," she said. "If you torture him to death while he is defenseless like this, you'll be no different than the butchers who killed all those people in that village. Think of the example you are setting for Ryo."

Kaibara narrowed his eyes at her as he lowered his gun. Leticia looked away, her gaze turning toward the ground.

"This isn't who you are," she nearly whispered. "Please."

Kaibara glared over at Escovado and put his gun away.

"Norester," he said. "Make sure Dopazo puts him with the rest of the prisoners…and make sure that they keep an eye on him." Kaibara then turned toward Leticia.

"Leticia, I know that you have your own way of seeing me," he said. "But you need to understand that there is another part to my nature, a part that is necessary for what I do…a part that you might find difficult to accept."

Leticia continued to look away, and Ryo slowly walked over and reached for Leticia's hand.

"Are you all right, Leticia?" Ryo asked her. Leticia shook her head, sadness evident in her features.

"I should be asking you that, Ryo," she said. "But I am fine, thank you. Thank you for saving me… and I am so sorry for putting you in harm's way."

"It's ok," Ryo murmured. Kaibara put a hand on Ryo's head and smiled at him.

"And I also thank you for protecting Leticia," he said. "You did very well today, _musuko_." Ryo grinned at Kaibara's words and the grin grew even wider as Leticia bent down and kissed his cheek.

During this, Norester had motioned Dopazo over and instructed him to take both Juan and Escovado prisoner. As Dopazo watched Juan stagger to his feet, Escovado slowly reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a knife.

'_I don't care what happens to me now,' _he thought to himself. '_I have to make Kaibara pay one way or another.'_

Before Dopazo could react, Escovado jumped to his feet and rushed toward Leticia and Ryo, his knife raised to strike. Ryo put himself in front of Leticia and closed his eyes, but before Escovado could reach them, Kaibara pulled his gun back out and shot Escovado in the head. Escovado fell to the ground dead and Kaibara stood over his body, his back to Leticia.

"Do you see now?" he asked her. "Do you see why I cannot always afford the luxury of remaining as pure as you would have me be? This is a war, and I am a soldier…but I am also a killer, Leticia, a killer with numerous enemies. You need to understand that."

Leticia stared at Kaibara for a moment, a pair of tears sliding down her face before turning and running away. Ryo glanced over at Kaibara before taking off after her. Kaibara continued to stare down at Escovado's body while Norester walked up to him.

"I just got the latest report from Perez," Norester said. "It looks like we've managed to wipe out over half of this squadron and we also were able to take a few prisoners."

"What about Captain Maceno?" Kaibara asked. "He got away, didn't he?"

"Yeah, it looks like he did," Norester sighed. "And I've got a funny feeling that we haven't heard the last of him. But on the bright side, our men were able to get those fires out before they caused any major damage, and we were able to prevent any civilian casualties. All in all, a successful operation."

"Yes," Kaibara said as he took a deep breath. "Have Dopazo load up the prisoners onto the truck. I will accompany them and report to Galvez."

"Hey, you don't have to do that," Norester said. "I can go and…."

"When you see Ryo, tell him to stay here and keep watch over Leticia," Kaibara said as he walked away. "Tell him that I will return some time tomorrow morning."

Before Norester could say another word, Kaibara walked away, his step swift and purposeful.

* * *

Later that evening, after dinner, Leticia sat outside next her hut, staring at the sky. After spending an hour watching the stars come out, Ryo came out to sit down next to her.

"Leticia," he said after a long silence. "Don't be sad. I don't think _oyaji_ is mad at you."

"Ryo," Leticia breathed as she looked over at him. She watched Ryo look up toward the sky, his expression pensive.

"Sometimes _oyaji_ goes off by himself," he continued. "Norester told me it's because he needs time to think, to sort stuff out. It's not always because he's mad about something. And he always comes back when he says he will."

"That's true," Leticia smiled at him. "Shin was like that even as a teenager. He does live a good portion of life inside his head."

"Yeah, I think so too," Ryo smiled back. "So please don't worry." Leticia reached over and ran her fingers through Ryo's hair.

"All right, I won't," she said. Ryo nodded and stared at the ground while she put an arm around him.

"Ryo? Is something on your mind?" she asked.

"Leticia…are you afraid of me?" Ryo whispered.

"Why on earth would you think that, Ryo?" she gasped.

"Earlier today, when I shot those soldiers who were trying to hurt you," Ryo replied. "You were staring at me. Usually when people look at me or at _oyaji_ that way, it's because they don't like us or because are afraid of us." Leticia put her arms around him and drew him close to her.

"Ryo, it's not like that at all," she insisted. "It's just…I was startled. Much like with Shin, I had grown so accustomed to the way I know you as a child and as my friend, I didn't really consider the world that you live in. But what I do know is that that is just one facet of your life and that who you are as a person lies in the beautiful heart that I know you have. So I could never be afraid of you and do not think for a moment that I care any less about you now than I did before." Ryo leaned against her and the two of them went back to watching the stars.

"Leticia, I wish I could stay just like this," Ryo murmured. "I wish that tomorrow didn't have to come."

"But why would you want something like that?" Leticia asked. Ryo embraced her briefly before getting up and walking over to the doorway of the hut.

"Because tomorrow often means that something will move closer to the end," he said, his tone somber. "I think that's another reason why you're sad."

Ryo walked inside, and Leticia brushed a tear off her cheek before gazing at the moon that had appeared from behind a cloud.

'_Ryo…Sometimes I wish that you weren't so insightful.'_

* * *

The next morning, both Leticia and Ryo were helping the Professor tend to the injuries some of the troop and the locals had suffered. They had just finished with the last person when Kaibara walked into the hut where they were working with a knapsack in his hands. Both Leticia and Ryo smiled and rushed over to him.

"Hi, _oyaji_," Ryo said.

"Good morning, Ryo, Leticia," Kaibara smiled back.

"Shin," Leticia said. "I…." Kaibara put a finger on her lips.

"It's all right," he said. "You do not owe me any explanations. I spend so much time on the battlefield; I sometimes forget how people outside that sort of life might be shocked when exposed to it. I do not blame you at all for the reactions you had."

"Shin," Leticia beamed at him as she put her arms around him. He embraced her in return and Ryo grinned and giggled at the sight.

"Ah you're back," a voice from behind Kaibara boomed. Kaibara, Leticia, Ryo and the Professor looked over to see Norester walk into the hut as well. Norester noted how Kaibara was holding Leticia, and he chuckled slightly while putting a hand to the back of his head.

"Sorry, looks like I walked in on a moment," he said. "But I've got some news that should make things even merrier around here. Perez met up with the people who are coming to transport the survivors here to a city up north and to take these children to an orphanage there. They should be here within an hour and hopefully you can all leave by tomorrow."

"That's wonderful," Leticia replied. "Now these children can be safe and have a chance to get some better care. Shin, Ryo, Mister Norester, Professor…thank you, all of you, for helping us."

"It's no bother," Norester grinned. "We're just glad this all worked out for you and the kids."

"Hey, what do you have there?" Ryo asked as he pointed at the knapsack. Kaibara smiled again and pulled out a small paper bag.

"After I reported to Galvez, he had me run an errand in a city about twenty miles from here," he said. "Once I was done, I decided to spend some time visiting the shops there. This is for you, Ryo."

Ryo grabbed the sack out of Kaibara's hand and grinned even more when he got a look at the contents inside: some candy along with a yo-yo and a toy frog that would leap outward when a ball attached to it was squeezed.

"Thank you, _oyaji_," he said, joy sparkling in his eyes.

"You're welcome, _musuko_," Kaibara said, his warm tone betraying how touched he was by Ryo's reaction to his gift. He then handed a package over to Leticia.

"And this is for you," he told her. "I thought that perhaps you could wear it while we have dinner together tonight."

Leticia smiled and leaned toward Kaibara to kiss him when the sound of giggles and laughter stopped her. Kaibara then shook his head.

"I think perhaps we should continue this conversation elsewhere," he said. "Away from this gallery of children, busybodies and perverts."

Kaibara put an arm around her and led her outside. Meanwhile Ryo, Norester, and the Professor gathered near the doorway to watch them leave.

"I think you'll be spending tonight with us, Ryo," Norester said, patting him on the head.

"Why?" Ryo asked. "I've had dinner with Leticia and _oyaji_ before."

"Yes, but this time is different," Norester said. "Kaibara and Leticia want to spend some, um adult time together, ok?"

"Oh, is this like that stuff you told me about?" Ryo said, looking toward the Professor.

"Yes, well…." the Professor smiled nervously.

"Professor!" Norester cut in. "Just what have you been telling him? You haven't been letting him check out those magazines in that one trunk of yours, have you?"

"No no, of course not," the Professor replied, a bead of sweat rolling off his brow. "It's just that Ryo was curious about some things, so I took the time to explain them to him."

"Oh, God, I can only imagine," Norester said, putting a hand to his face. "Kaibara better not find out about this, or he'll probably shoot you and then me for good measure. Ryo, promise me that you won't tell your father about what you discussed with the Professor for a long, long time, ok?"

"Ok, I promise," Ryo grinned. "As long as you don't tell him the next time I have an accident with one of the grenades during training."

"That's blackmail," Norester said, incredulous. Ryo grinned again, and squeezed the ball attached to his toy frog so that it leapt toward Norester's face. Norester frowned for a moment before letting out a sigh and nodding his head. He then grabbed Ryo and tickled his chest, prompting a burst of giggles from Ryo.

"All right, you've got a deal," Norester smirked as Ryo continued to laugh. "But one of these days, I'm going to have a talk with your father about that impish streak of yours."

* * *

After spending most of the day helping everyone prepare to leave the village, Kaibara changed into one of his few civilian outfits of slacks and a tan shirt. That evening, he went to Leticia's hut and smiled when she came out to greet him wearing a dark blue sun dress.

"Shin, it's lovely," she smiled as she ran her hand along the skirt. "And it fits perfectly. Just how did you know what my size is?" Kaibara chuckled and put an arm around her.

"Let's just say I'm pretty good at estimating measurements," he said. Leticia laughed and guided him into the hut where she had food sitting on the table for him.

"So, are you going to tell me what this is about?" she smiled as they sat down to eat.

"I thought that it would be good to have an evening like the ones we used to share," Kaibara replied.

"Oh, you mean like a date?" Leticia said. "Since when did you become a romantic?"

The two of them laughed again and began to eat while each of them shared some stories about the things they had been doing for the last few years. Once dinner was finished, they went outside to watch the moon rise. They held each other silently for several minutes before Kaibara cleared his throat and took both of Leticia's hands into his.

"Leticia," he said. "I know that it's only been a couple days, but spending this time with you…I realize that my feelings for you have not changed after all these years. If anything, I think they are even stronger now."

"I know," she said as she gazed into his eyes. "I feel the exact same way."

"Last night, I spent a lot of time considering that and what you told me earlier that day," Kaibara continued. "And I realized that you were right. I do not want to become the type of person who only lives to fight and kill. I want a life outside of that."

Kaibara paused and stroked the backs of Leticia's hands with his thumbs.

"So I would like to offer you a proposal," he added. "After you are finished with transporting these orphans, would you consider staying with me?"

"Staying? But what about your work as a guerrilla?" she asked. "What about this war?"

"I'm willing to walk away from it for you," Kaibara said. "Leticia, I have spent almost ten years of my life fighting for a country that is not my own. I think I have contributed more than most would for this cause."

"Shin, I…."

"I have managed to put aside some money," Kaibara continued. "And I know of several places where we could go and live peacefully for the most part."

"And Ryo?" Leticia said.

"Ryo would come with us, of course," Kaibara nodded. "It would be a good opportunity to give him a better childhood. Plus, I know that he is quite taken with you, and I have often thought that it would be good for him to have someone in his life who could be like a mother to him."

Kaibara brought Leticia's hands close to his lips, planting a light kiss on one of them.

"But even more than that, I know now that I do not want to leave you again," he said. "We lost so many years. I do not want to lose any more."

"Shin…I…I…"

Kaibara's face fell as he watched tears stream down Leticia's face. Worried, he put his arms around her.

"Leticia?"

"Shin, I can't," she cried. "I can't stay with you. I want to so much, but I can't."

"But why?" Kaibara asked. Leticia wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Do you remember what I told you about my mother?" she said. "About how both she and two of my aunts died from a heart condition?"

"Leticia," Kaibara said, his eyes widening in shock. "Are you…are you saying that….?"

"Yes," Leticia nodded. "I found out earlier this year that I have it too…and that it's in the final stages."

"How long?" Kaibara asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Three months…at the absolute most," Leticia said. "Probably sooner. It's why I agreed to help out in this village, despite the danger I knew I would be in. I knew that these children needed help…and that I did not have that much more time left anyway."

Kaibara let her go and turned his back toward her.

"Why did you tell me that your condition wasn't serious when I asked you about it before?" he asked. "Why did you lie to me?"

"Shin, I am so sorry," she said. "I didn't want to lie, but…."

Leticia moved close to him and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"This time, this time I've spent with you and with Ryo, it has been some of the happiest moments of my entire life," she said. "I kept wishing that it would never end. That I could be your wife and Ryo could be our child. I guess I thought that if I kept this a secret, I could live that dream for a little while longer. Believe me, I never wanted to hurt you, Shin."

Kaibara bowed his head and after a minute more he put his hands over Leticia's.

"I understand," he murmured. He then turned to her and put his arms around her again.

"Then in that case, let me stay with you and take care of you until the end," he said. "Even if it's only for a short time, I want to spend as much of it as I can with you."

"No," Leticia said with a sad smile. "Watching over me every day, waiting for me to die…I do not want to put you or Ryo through that. I want our last moments together to be happy and full of life."

"Leticia…." Leticia stopped him by putting a hand on his cheek.

"Shin, we both know that it's better this way," she said. "Please, let's spend our last night together without any regrets."

Kaibara nodded and held her close, unwilling to let her go for the rest of the night.

* * *

The next morning went by quickly as everyone prepared to leave the remains of the village behind. Once they were ready, Leticia met with Kaibara and Ryo one more time.

"Thank you again for everything," she told them.

"It was nothing," Kaibara said. "Good luck to you in your travels."

"Leticia." Both Kaibara and Leticia looked down to see Ryo staring at her, his eyes watery.

"Will I ever see you again?" Ryo asked, his voice wobbly. Leticia and Kaibara shared a pained look before Leticia crouched down and forced herself to smile.

"Perhaps," she said. "But please, no matter what happens, promise me that you won't forget any of the things I told you. Will you do that for me?"

"I will," Ryo nodded vigorously. "I promise." Leticia smiled and kissed him on the forehead before embracing him tightly for a moment. She then stood back up and let Kaibara draw her into his arms.

"Goodbye Shin," she murmured into his ear. "Take care of yourself and Ryo…and know that I will always love you."

"As will I," Kaibara whispered. "And I will never forget you either, Leticia."

They held each other tightly for a moment more before separating. Both Kaibara and Ryo watched her get onto one of the trucks and ride away down the road.

"We're not going to see her again, are we, _oyaji_?" Ryo asked quietly after the truck had disappeared from view.

Kaibara said nothing, the words frozen in his throat, as he put his arm around Ryo's shoulders and guided him away from the road.

* * *

It was two months later when the letter came.

Vilas had shown up to offer to join Galvez's group, and Kaibara, knowing that Vilas had gone with Leticia to the orphanage, had asked about her. Vilas frowned and pulled a sealed envelope from his pocket and handed it to him.

"It happened only three weeks after we left that village," Vilas said. "And I…I think you should know that the last thing she said was your name. You and that child of yours were all she thought about until the end."

Kaibara had withdrawn to his hut and read the letter alone. It was another two hours after that before he had the strength to shove the letter into one of the pockets of his backpack and grab a bottle of whiskey.

As he sat by a fire and drank, Norester and Ryo stood nearby, watching him. Norester had explained to Ryo what had happened a while ago and had kept a hand on Ryo's shoulder while he cried. Once he was done, Ryo walked away, intent on finding Kaibara. Soon they had found him sitting alone at the edge of the village, and Norester had stopped Ryo from walking over to him.

"Ryo, I think you should leave Kaibara alone tonight," Norester said. "This is going to be a lot of grief for him to work through."

Ryo nodded and Norester walked back toward the center of the camp. Ryo was about to follow him when Leticia's words suddenly came back to him.

'…_And I need you to promise me that you will be there for your father when he needs you…'_

Ryo swallowed hard as he realized what he needed to do. He carefully walked up behind Kaibara and quietly stood next to him for a moment before clearing his throat.

"_Oyaji…."_

"_Leave," _Kaibara said in a low menacing voice. "_I do not want any company tonight." _Ryo considered doing as his father ordered for a second before taking a deep breath and staying where he was.

"_I just wanted to say that I was sorry," _Ryo said. "_For what I said before." _

Kaibara turned to look at him, anger visible in his expression, and Ryo looked down at the ground.

"_At the village, when you told me about your parents and when I talked about not being able to remember mine," _Ryo continued. "_I mean, you lost your birth parents, and then you didn't have anyone. When I lost mine, I still had you, and Norester, and now I have the Professor. But I…I'm sorry that you were alone…and I'm sorry that I acted like I wasn't thankful that you became my father. "_

Kaibara said nothing, his features still contorted with rage and sorrow as Ryo sat down next to him while keeping his head bowed.

"_We were both orphans," _Ryo said as he pulled his knees close to his chest. "_Just like all those kids who Let-…who she took care of. We didn't have any family. But it's ok now, because you're my father and I'm your son. We both have a family and neither one of us has to be alone anymore."_

Ryo looked took another deep breath and looked up at Kaibara, a smile on his face.

"_Right, oyaji?"_

Kaibara stared into Ryo's eyes for a minute before his expression finally softened and a trace of a smile appeared on his lips.

"_So it would seem, musuko," _Kaibara said quietly. "_So it would seem."_

Ryo nodded and looked back down at the ground. Ryo then felt Kaibara put an arm around his shoulders and pull him closer. A couple minutes later, he heard Kaibara's breath hitch while he held him. He then looked up to see that Kaibara had covered most of his face with his hand, and seconds later, Ryo saw a tear slide out from under his fingers. Ryo turned away to look at the fire while snuggling closer to his father.

'_I'm sorry…oyaji….'_

Ryo closed his eyes and did not say another word or leave his father's side for the rest of the night.


	11. The Sacrifice-part one

Author's Note: Next chapter. This will be a bit of a long section (possibly three to four parts) since I am tackling a pretty important event that was mentioned in the manga. And I will say now that it will be a little darker too (more like the Union Teope storyline from early in the manga), so be forewarned. Still, I hope my readers will enjoy it anyway. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :)

**Eve: **Thank you for the review as always. I often suspected that part of the reason why Ryo is an interesting mix of quiet romantic and deadly serious is because of Kaibara's influence on him...though I suspect that the goofy, perverted side was partially the result of also having friends like Norester and the Professor while growing up. ;)...thus, I thought it would be good to show both sides of Kaibara's character in that sense along with the continuing evolution of Ryo's insight and warm heart in regards to the people close to him...As to why Ryo became such a pervert, I do think it was for the reason I just mentioned, but also because Ryo grew up in an environment that probably did not put much of a premium on proper etiquette and that was relatively scarce as far as women go...and yes, expect to see more and more of how that evolved as well for the rest of this fic. ;) Thank you for the well wishes on my finals and I hope that you will enjoy this chapter as well.

Chapter Eleven—The Sacrifice—part one

Kaibara glared at the angry look on Ryo's face, and he began to wonder why what was supposed to be a teaching moment was turning into a bitter fight between them.

* * *

The day had started out innocently enough. The military forces had been mostly dormant for the last couple of months, and many factions of the resistance, including Galvez's guerrilla group, were taking the advantage of the relatively peaceful time by fortifying their defenses and resources along with giving their men a chance to recuperate from the near constant fighting that had been the norm for almost six months before that.

Norester used the time to take a furlong to see his wife Sophie and his daughter Mary and had ended spending almost a month with them. When he finally did come back, he and the Professor ended up taking trips to nearby villages to help resolve disputes between the locals and to give medical assistance when needed.

Kaibara decided to use the time to teach Ryo some additional techniques in hand-to-hand combat and sharpen his ability to think and plan for battles strategically as well as continue to refine his marksmanship skills. Days were spent mostly in training with only the evenings being a time when either of them would have a chance to relax.

Still nursing a wounded heart several months after Leticia's death, Kaibara chose to spend most of those evenings alone with a glass or two of whiskey and his own thoughts. Having no other real friends within the troop, Ryo would often spend these times with either Norester or the Professor if he did not go off by himself. The result was that Kaibara rarely spoke to Ryo outside of giving him orders on the battlefield or during his drills and training exercises and a subtle but noticeable tension had developed between them.

That morning, Kaibara was watching Ryo while he practiced shooting his Magnum. Kaibara nodded approvingly as the bullets clustered together toward the center of the targets with each round that Ryo fired.

"_Your gun skills are definitely improving," _Kaibara said once Ryo was finished. _"At this rate, you will be second only to Norester and me within a year at the most."_

"_Thanks," _Ryo grinned. "_I've been practicing a lot here lately, just like you told me to."_

"_You haven't been following through with all of my directives for practice," _Kaibara frowned. "_You are still not nearly as strong as you should be by now in hand-to-hand combat techniques nor are you taking my lessons in strategy as seriously as you need to."_

"_But what's the point of that?" _Ryo huffed. "_I'm still too small to be able to seriously defeat someone in hand-to-hand combat. And besides, as long as my gun skills are better than everyone else's, I won't have to worry about losing."_

"_So, is that what you think?" _Kaibara said, his frown deepening. "_You think that being a skilled professional soldier is just about how well you handle a gun?"_

"_Well maybe it's not the only thing," _Ryo sighed. "_But yeah, it's the most important thing. I mean, if you can shoot better than the other guy, you'll defeat him."_

"_If that is what you think, then you are a fool," _Kaibara said. He then pulled out his Magnum and sat it down on the ground. He then walked over and took Ryo's Magnum away from him and took the bullets out of the chamber. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out another set of bullets and loaded some of them into Ryo's gun.

"_Let's put your theory to the test," _Kaibara said as he finished loading Ryo's gun and handed it back to him. "_I just put some blanks into your gun which have a powder in them that will show up if they hit their mark." _Kaibara then backed away from Ryo while still facing him.

"_Go ahead and try to shoot me," _Kaibara instructed him. "_If what you say is true, then you should be able to defeat me with little difficulty since I am unarmed."_

"_Oyaji," _Ryo mumbled as he gaped at him. "_I…I can't…."_

"_I told you, the bullets are blanks. You do not have to worry about injuring me," _Kaibara interrupted. "_Now, take your best shot at me. Do not hold back in the least."_

Ryo did not move as he watched Kaibara crouch into a fighting stance, still reluctant to actually point his Magnum at his father. Soon, however, a look of scorn made its way into Kaibara's features and Ryo felt a flicker of anger stir inside of him. He aimed his gun at Kaibara and fired, but ended up missing when Kaibara leapt to the side, dodging the attack. Ryo continued to try to aim at him, but every time he was close getting a clear shot, Kaibara managed to evade him at the last second. Eventually, Ryo gritted his teeth and tried to match his father's movements, weaving his way across the field and quickly gaining ground on Kaibara. At one point, Ryo was able to leap out in front of Kaibara and he grinned as he pointed his gun at Kaibara's chest, confident that he would not miss this time.

Kaibara, however, reacted even faster. He picked up a branch off the ground and flung it at Ryo's hands, surprising Ryo and causing him to drop the gun just as he was about to pull the trigger. Kaibara then jumped toward Ryo, knocking him down while throwing himself to the ground. Ryo bounced back to his feet and was about to rush at Kaibara when he found himself face to face with the muzzle of his own Magnum.

"_You see now?" _Kaibara said as he pointed Ryo's gun at his head. "_Do you see how stupid your assertions were? Even though I was unarmed I was able to beat you because, unlike you, I do not just rely on the gun in my hand to defeat my enemies."_

Kaibara stood back up and removed the remaining blanks from Ryo's gun before tossing it back toward him.

"_A true professional knows that he must use whatever resources he has available to him," _Kaibara continued. "_Whether it's guns, his own fighting skills or even whatever might be on hand from his surroundings. Any idiot with a modicum of ability can learn to shoot a gun, but a person with a mind well-versed in strategic thinking and with a diverse set of fighting techniques will have the means to decisively and consistently defeat his enemies."_

Kaibara brushed some dirt off his uniform while Ryo picked up his gun from the ground, his expression livid.

"_Now, are you going to pay attention to what I am trying to teach you?" _Kaibara said. "_Or are you going to continue to cling to your childish notions that all you need is a gun to be a professional soldier?"_

"_Why are you asking me?" _Ryo mumbled, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"_Excuse me?"_

"_Why are you asking me?" _Ryo repeated, raising his head to glower at him. "_You have all the answers already, so why bother asking me? What I think never matters anyway because you'll just tell me that I'm wrong practically every time."_

"_And what would you prefer?" _Kaibara asked. "_For me to pat you on the back and let you go on thinking that you are right when you're not? To let you go off into battle with tactics that could get you killed?"_

Ryo gritted his teeth in response while balling his hands into fists, but said nothing. Kaibara continued to watch him, waiting for Ryo's response and he began to wonder how to end this stalemate between them.

"Hey, Kaibara, Ryo, what's going on here?"

Both Kaibara and Ryo turned their heads to see Norester standing a couple feet away from them.

"Nothing," Kaibara said. "I was just giving Ryo a much-needed lesson about the importance of thinking before acting."

"Ryo," Norester said. "Are you…?"

Ryo glared at Kaibara for a moment more before shoving his gun into his holster and stomping away. As soon as he was gone, Norester frowned and walked over to Kaibara.

"What was that all about?" Norester asked.

"I told you," Kaibara replied. "Ryo needed to learn about…."

"Yeah, yeah, he needed to learn about thinking before acting," Norester said. "And the same could be said about you."

"What are you talking about?" Kaibara frowned. "I am not the one who is acting increasingly reckless on the battlefield. Ryo has to…."

"Yes, I get that," Norester said, cutting him off. "I get what you were trying to teach him, and you are right about his recent attitude on the battlefield. That does need to go. But I don't need to speak Japanese to know that you were being a condescending ass about it. Do you actually think Ryo is going to learn anything when you do things like that?"

"And I suppose you have a better way to get these points across?" Kaibara shot back. "Because as far as I can tell, you have not made sufficient progress with him either. Besides, Ryo needs to learn to stop letting his emotions dictate his responses."

"And you need to learn to stop expecting Ryo to mindlessly follow every rule you give him," Norester said. "He needs you to give him guidance and encouragement along with instruction so that he can learn to reach these conclusions on his own. You can't just shove a bunch of lessons and rules down his throat with no regard to his own thoughts or to his feelings."

"I am not teaching him any differently from how I was taught to survive in this profession," Kaibara said. "Granted, he is stubborn and impulsive, but I am confident that what I have taught him will sink in over time. It will just be a matter of making sure that he stays alive long enough for it to do so."

Kaibara started to walk away, but Norester raised a hand to stop him.

"Kaibara, what is this really about?" he asked, his tone suddenly somber. "You and I both know that it's never just a master and apprentice situation between you and Ryo, so why are you trying to act like it is? And don't try to tell me that you're just trying to make sure he learns in the most efficient way possible because it's clear that that is not happening."

Kaibara frowned again, his shoulders slumping down and his eyes growing dim.

"Is this about her?" Norester said. "I know that you loved her and that you miss her, but you can't…."

"Norester, if you value our friendship, you will not finish that statement," Kaibara said, his face an emotionless mask, despite the clear threat in his tone. Norester pressed his lips together in a fine line and held his tongue, not wanting to cross a line of no return with the man he considered his closest friend in the world.

"And as I see it, you have little right to judge how I decide to instruct Ryo," Kaibara continued. "Try raising your beloved daughter, Mary, in the middle of this war, and maybe then you will have room to criticize my decisions."

Kaibara then walked away, leaving Norester to fume silently as he watched him leave. He was about to take off after him when a sound from behind stopped him.

"Norester, sir," Dopazo said. "General Galvez wishes to speak to you about the latest reconnaissance reports."

"Tell him I will be there in a minute," Norester replied. Dopazo nodded and walked off while Norester took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

'_Kaibara, what is going on inside your mind?' _he wondered. '_Are you really willing to sacrifice the bond you have with your son just so you can continue to mourn?'_

* * *

A few hours later, Norester, Kaibara and Ryo were making their way through the jungle with a few more members of their troop. Earlier, Galvez had informed them that the military was transporting some weapons and supplies to a large base that had been built a little over fifteen miles from their location.

"Apparently, this base has a new man in charge, a man with ambition," Galvez had told them. "Seizing those supplies would be a good way to curb some of that ambition while also giving us a much needed boost to our own stocks."

Wanting to keep this mission as low-profile as possible, Galvez sent only a small group of men, led by Kaibara and Norester, to ambush the truck transporting the supplies to the base. After a long trek through the jungle, they positioned themselves along a narrow stretch of road.

"According to Escota, the truck should come through here before too long," Norester whispered to Kaibara after they had taken position. "And I guess they're getting arrogant because there's only supposed two jeeps of men guarding it, one traveling ahead and one behind."

"It does seem careless on their part," Kaibara nodded. "We best remain alert in case this is not just as it seems. By the way, where is Ryo?"

"I sent him with Perez and Dopazo on the other side of the road," Norester said. "The last thing any of us need right now is to deal with the tension between you two."

Kaibara frowned, but did not reply. A part of him felt that Norester was right to separate him from Ryo so they both could focus on the mission. Still, Kaibara could not shake the sense that it was a mistake to have Ryo away from his side. His thoughts were interrupted, however, by the sound of vehicles moving closer to them. Norester silently signaled the men to get ready to strike, and he and Kaibara shared a nod as they prepared themselves. Seconds later, the first jeep appeared, followed closely by a slow-moving truck behind it. They waited until the second jeep was in view before starting to shoot and run out toward the vehicles.

Both Norester and Kaibara flinched, however, when more men started to stream out of the back of the truck.

"It's a trap," Norester hissed. "We need to pull back."

"We pull back too quickly and they'll chase us all the way to our village," Kaibara replied. "We need to take some of them out first."

"No problem," Norester grinned. "These don't look like first-class guys anyway."

Kaibara smirked and shook his head before splitting off from Norester and firing his rifle at a group of soldiers who had gathered near the truck.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ryo was following Dopazo in the brush beside the road, rising up intermittingly to shoot down any soldiers who got too close to them.

"Saeba, stay close to me and Perez," Dopazo ordered. "The minute we meet up with either Mister Norester or Mister Kaibara, you'll be going off with them."

Ryo frowned, but nodded his head. He knew that both Norester and Kaibara had specifically instructed many of the men within the troop to guide Ryo back to one of them in the event they were separated if the battle became too intense and if it was feasible. He knew that it was one of the ways they tried to ensure his safety during their scrimmages. Still, Ryo couldn't help but chafe some at the idea that he needed "looking after" by other members of the troop.

'_No wonder most of the others want little to nothing to do with me,' _he thought to himself. '_To them, I'm just a little kid that they are forced to take care of. There's no way they'll ever see me as a real soldier like them.'_

Soon, Vilas and Escota met up with them, and Dopazo instructed both Ryo and Perez to hold their position while the rest of them advanced toward a group of soldiers who were huddled near one of the jeeps.

"Damn, where are Norester and Kaibara?" Perez grimaced. "I thought they'd give the order to retreat by now. Guess they just want to make sure to live up to their reputation."

Ryo frowned even more, but held his tongue. He knew that Perez was jealous of both Norester and Kaibara…and that Kaibara in particular grated on him. Ryo was certain that that sentiment extended to him, but so far, Perez had kept any animosity he might have to himself.

Suddenly, he saw Perez tense up and turn toward an area a couple of feet behind them.

"Someone's coming," Perez said. "I'm checking it out."

"Wait," Ryo protested. "Dopazo said to stay here."

"You do what you want," Perez said. "I'm not going to be a sitting duck."

Perez then disappeared into the jungle Ryo crouched down and gripped his rifle. He could detect other soldiers around him, but knew that he was hidden from their view in his current position. He thought again about how Dopazo had ordered him to stay there, but the sound of other members of his troop yelling and firing their rifles soon made him reconsider that idea.

'_I can't just sit here,' _he told himself. '_They might need my help. And I can't be on the defensive all the time, even if that's all that oyaji seems to want me to do.'_

Decision made, Ryo began to creep in the direction that Perez had left in. As he slinked through the brush, Ryo heard the sounds of the other men fade and soon he began to wonder if Perez had circled back toward the road.

'_This was a mistake,' _Ryo thought, a sense of dread filling him. '_I shouldn't be out here by myself. I need to get back with the others.'_

Ryo was about to run back toward the road when he felt a surge of murderous intent behind him. He whirled around but could see no one.

'_Was I wrong?' _he asked himself. '_Maybe I'm just imagining things.'_

"Ryo Saeba, what a surprise. And here I thought that Kaibara never let you out of his sight."

Ryo pointed his rifle toward the sound, but the source of the voice continued to elude him. Suddenly, he sensed someone standing directly behind him and started to turn around when he felt someone grab him from behind. He then felt the prick of a needle in his neck. Ryo managed to yank himself away from the other man's grasp and turned to see a man with a machete at his hip holding a syringe in his hand. Seconds later, Ryo's vision grew fuzzy and he staggered toward the dirt.

"Now now, I can't let you get away," the man smiled as Ryo collapsed onto his back. "I have far too may plans for you…and for Kaibara. Best that you let yourself drift away into dreamland for now."

Ryo struggled to keep his eyes open, but his vision grew even hazier and his mind was barely able to focus on anything other than the voice of the man standing over him. Soon his eyes slid shut with the man's grinning face being the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kaibara surveyed his surroundings, tension mounting inside of him.

As Norester had predicted, the caliber of the soldiers who tried to ambush them was vastly inferior to that of their own people, and soon numerous bodies were scattered about on the ground. After shooting through another small cluster of soldiers, Kaibara began to search for Norester so he could check his progress.

'_Strange,' _he pondered. _ 'If their sole intent was to wipe us out, it seems like they would have sent better people to confront us. As it is, it's as if they purposely sent out their worst people. But why?'_

'_Unless…unless, this whole ambush was only meant to be a distraction. But if that is the case…what was their real objective?'_

Kaibara frowned as he reloaded his rifle. A sound from behind him caught his attention, but he quickly relaxed when he saw that it was Dopazo.

"Mister Kaibara, sir, Mister Norester ordered me to tell you that he and his men have cleared the south area of solders," Dopazo reported. "From what he could tell, there is only a handful of the enemy left alive."

"Good," Kaibara nodded. "Prepare to head back toward the village. And Dopazo, where is Ryo?"

"Saeba?" Dopazo said. "I left him with Perez. They should be meeting up with Mister Norester by now."

Seconds after the words left his mouth, Norester, Escota and Perez burst out of the jungle beside them.

"Piece of cake," Norester grinned. "I've already sent most of the others back toward the village. I figure we can get out of here any time."

"Norester, where is Ryo?" Kaibara said, worry beginning to seep into his tone.

"Didn't he meet back up with you?" Norester asked.

"Dopazo said that he was with Perez," Kaibara replied.

"He was, but then he took off," Perez said. "I figured that he was on his way to meet up with you or Mister Norester."

Kaibara clenched his hands into fists and the gesture was not lost on Norester who looked over at him with a grim expression.

"Dopazo, you, Escota and Perez head back to the village," Norester said. "Kaibara and I will follow you before long." The other nodded at them and ran off before Norester nodded at Kaibara.

"Let's go find him," Norester said, his tone grave. Kaibara nodded slowly. He knew that it was folly to allow any emotions to register while in the middle of the battlefield, but that was not enough to stop his heart from beginning to race with fear: fear of what he and Norester might discover, fear that the two of them had made a fatal mistake in letting Ryo out of their sight.

Fear that he was about to lose another person who was vital to him.

Norester and Kaibara circled around the truck, which had been abandoned and searched for any sign of the enemy or Ryo. They were about to cross into the jungle when they heard one of the jeeps roar to life. They spun toward it, their rifles drawn, and watched as four men loaded into the jeep, their own rifles poised to fire. Norester and Kaibara then gasped when the saw a fifth man appear from the jungle with Ryo slung over his shoulder. The man moved to the center of the others and tossed Ryo into the jeep. He then leapt in beside him and pulled Ryo's head up by his hair. Norester and Kaibara noted that Ryo's eyes were closed and that he wasn't moving in response to the man's rough treatment.

"Kaibara, Norester," the man shouted. "I know you're around here somewhere, and I know that you can see that Saeba is in my possession now. If you want him back alive, you will agree to my demands which I will send back to this location by noon tomorrow. If you refuse them, you'll still get him back, but in pieces instead."

Norester looked over toward Kaibara and blinked hard at the cold, venomous glint in his eyes, eyes that were completely focused on the man who continued to smirk and shake Ryo like a rag doll.

"I will take my leave now," the man said as he sat down in the jeep. "And I would advise you to not try anything…that is unless you would like me to start carving Saeba up right here and now."

The man laughed as the jeep lurched forward and started to speed away. Kaibara leapt out from behind the truck, his Magnum pointed at the jeep, and attempted to get a clear shot at the man who had a hold of Ryo, but the jeep was speeding away too quickly for him to get a chance. Instead, he lowered his gun and continued to watch the jeep disappear from view. A moment later, Norester moved to stand beside him.

"Is that who I thought it was?" he asked.

"If you thought that it was Captain Maceno, then yes," Kaibara nodded. "It appears that you were right about not seeing the last of him." Kaibara continued to stare at the direction Maceno had left in, and eventually Norester put a hand on Kaibara's arm.

"Kaibara, listen to me, I swear we will get Ryo back," he said. "You'll see."

Kaibara nodded but remained silent, a part of him certain that it would not be anywhere near as simple as Norester tried to imply.

* * *

Later that evening Kaibara sat by his hut, smoking a cigarette by himself. Earlier, he and Norester had reported to Galvez and informed him of what had happened with the ambush, the reappearance of Captain Maceno, and Ryo being taken as a hostage.

"So then, it's Maceno," Galvez had said once they were done with their report. "I had heard that he had strong backers within the military, but I had no idea that they would continue to support him after what the two of you did to his execution squad about a year ago."

"Sir, what of his request for a ransom?" Norester asked.

"I have no intention of making deals with the military," Galvez frowned. "But we might as well sit tight and wait to see what his demands are. If nothing else, we can use this opportunity to find out about his true intentions."

Galvez then sent out Tamez and Islava to gather as much information as they could about Maceno and where he could have taken Ryo. Norester went off to consult with Dopazo about possible plans of attack for when they met up with Maceno again while Kaibara chose to withdraw to his quarters to clear his mind. Kaibara spent only a few minutes staring at Ryo's things sitting on his side of the hut before he decided that he could not stay there any longer and went to sit outside.

Kaibara was finishing his cigarette when he saw the Professor walking up to him.

"_Norester told me what happened," _the Professor said. "_I am so sorry to hear about Ryo-chan. I hope that he is all right."_

"_We all knew the risks Ryo faced by staying here with us," _Kaibara said as he stared at some distant spot in front of him.

"_Yes, but knowing these risks and having your child taken away from you are two different things,"_ the Professor countered. "_One does not even begin to compare to the other." _Kaibara frowned and shook his head while still keep his gaze on the scenery in front of him.

"_This is my fault," _Kaibara said. "_I knew that Ryo was becoming headstrong and impetuous and yet, I continued to indulge him. There is simply no room for that kind of behavior in this environment."_

_No, no you did not spoil him, Kaibara," _the Professor said. "_Far from it. Ryo-chan may be a bit obstinate and brash, but he is also tough, brave and compassionate. You have done well in raising him."_

"_But not well enough in training him," _Kaibara scowled. "_If I had, he would not be in his current situation." _

The Professor let out a sigh and shook his head as he watched Kaibara run a hand over his face and slump downward, his head bowing toward the ground.

"_Kaibara, blaming and punishing yourself for what happened may be the easy things to do, but they accomplish nothing," _he said. "_Right now, Ryo is alone and, more than likely, he is scared. He will have to rely on every bit of courage that he has to get through this, and more importantly, he will need you, his father, to be even stronger in order to save him."_

Kaibara did not respond or look up, and the Professor turned to walk away, pausing before he left.

"_Drowning yourself in self-recriminations will only make you weaker, Kaibara," _he said. "_Something you can ill-afford right now. Instead, you need to focus on getting your priorities in order….for Ryo's sake and for your own."_

The Professor then strolled away, and Kaibara waited until he could no longer hear his footsteps before lifting his head back up. Despite the way he felt at the moment, he could not deny that the Professor was correct in just about all of his assertions. Having seen his work first-hand, Kaibara knew that Maceno was a smart, deadly opponent who would resort to any tactics necessary to reach his goal. He would have to use all of his intelligence and fortitude to outmaneuver Maceno and get Ryo back, safe and whole.

As he watched the sun fade into the jungle, however, he hoped that Ryo had far more confidence in his ability to save him than Kaibara had himself right now.


	12. The Sacrifice-part two

Author's Note: Next chapter. Be warned, this one is really long. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :)

_-Additional note:_

_-The rabbit on the moon:_ A classic Japanese folktale with many variations...and sure to be a familiar story to fans of various anime/manga series, including Salior Moon. :)

Chapter Twelve—The Sacrifice—part two

Ryo groaned and blinked his eyes a few times in an attempt to focus and discern his surroundings from the darkness that enveloped him. He was disturbed; however, when he discovered that no matter how much he strained his eyes, the blackness remained. It took him several moments to realize that there was some kind of cloth covering his face.

'_What's going on?'_ he wondered. '_Wait…I was on a mission. I was trying to find Norester and oyaji. And then that man appeared….'_

Panic coursed through him as he remembered someone grabbing him and sticking a needle into his neck. Ryo tried to get up, but found that his wrists and ankles were bound tightly together, making it nearly impossible to move. He struggled for several minutes before finally giving up and lying still on his side.

"Ah, Saeba, I see that you are awake."

Ryo stiffened as he recognized that voice as belonging to the same man who had attacked him earlier. Seconds later he felt hands hover near his head and the blackness abruptly disappeared as the hood covering his face was ripped away. Ryo blinked again as his eyes adjusted to the light, and he saw the same man standing over him with a large grin on his face.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the man said. "I am Captain Maceno."

"Maceno?" Ryo slurred out, nausea overtaking him as the light continued to shine in his eyes.

"Good, I believe that you remember me," Maceno said. "I was hoping that you would, considering what you, Norester, and Kaibara did to my squadron last year."

Unable to control himself any longer, Ryo turned his head and vomited onto the floor. He continued to gag long after emptying the contents of his stomach, and Maceno laughed at the sight.

"I suppose I might have given you a little too much of my special 'cocktail' earlier," Maceno chuckled. "It is disagreeing with you, yes? I'm afraid that I do not have any experience with using it on children, so there are bound to be some miscalculations on the proper dosage."

Ryo coughed a couple times and tried to wriggle away from the mess on the floor. Maceno watched him inch along the floor for a minute before kneeling down and grabbing him by the shirt so he could haul him upright into a sitting position.

"Shall I tell you why you are here?" Maceno asked. "You see, you and your comrades caused me to lose face with some of my friends in the military. I was on my way to a promotion and an even larger battalion of men under my command. That was until the so-called 'Angels of Destruction' got in my way, killing most of my squadron. Granted, most of them were inferior soldiers, but still the incident caused me a great deal of embarrassment. It took a lot of maneuvering on my part to get to my current post at this base."

Maceno paused and studied the neutral expression on Ryo's face for a minute before suddenly slapping him across the face and letting loose with a series of blows all over Ryo's body. Ryo closed his eyes and tried to focus his mind away from the pain, determined not to cry out.

"It's because of you, because of you, Norester and Kaibara that I was deprived of what should have been mine," Maceno shouted as he continued to hit him. "Now it's time to make all of you pay for what you did."

Almost three agonizing minutes later, Maceno stopped and chuckled as he sat Ryo back up and tilted his head toward him.

"You are tough, I will give you that," Maceno smirked. "Just what I would expect from Kaibara's protégé. But I wonder how long that will last. I have never tried to break down a prisoner as young as you before. I foresee you giving me an interesting challenge along with a considerable amount of enjoyment before I end up killing you."

Maceno pulled out a long knife from a sheath on his belt and held it up near Ryo's face.

"Understand this, Saeba," he said. "You are going to die. And there is nothing that anyone can do to change that. The only questions left at this point are when it will happen and how much you will suffer before then."

Ryo swallowed hard. Even though this was not the first time his life was threatened, it was the first time that it happened when Norester and Kaibara were not somewhere nearby. He did not want to show any weakness, but the pain from Maceno's beating, along with the drugs he had been injected with and the fact that he was completely alone made it impossible for him to not react. His eyes grew wide with fear and became watery, but he managed to hold his tears back before any of them could fall.

"Good," Maceno smiled as he put the knife away. "I see that you are finally starting to appreciate the situation you are in." He pulled out a couple of strips of cloth from his pocket and wadded one up into a ball. Maceno then reached over and forced Ryo to open his mouth.

"There now," he said as he stuffed the cloth into Ryo's mouth and used the other one to tie it in place. "I have some people coming here to clean my office, and I wouldn't want to upset them with your screams."

Maceno then grabbed the hood and put it back over Ryo's head before pushing him onto the floor. A moment later, Ryo heard two more people walk into the room.

"Clean up this mess," Maceno ordered. "Once you are done, feel free to guard him however you wish, but whatever you do, make sure to keep him alive."

Ryo heard Maceno laugh again and walk out of the room, slamming a door behind him. He then heard the other men crack their knuckles and move closer to him.

"Why do we have to clean this up and babysit this kid?" one of them growled.

"Yeah, Maceno always gives us the dirty jobs," another one said.

"Well, no use complaining about it," the first one added. "And besides, we can always take out our 'cleaning bill' on this kid here."

Ryo heard both men laugh and seconds later, one of them kicked him in the ribs. He clamped his teeth down onto the gag in his mouth and tried again to block out the pain, but as the men kept kicking him, it became increasingly difficult to do. Soon, tears trickled down his face, and Ryo squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to think about anything other than what was happening to him.

'_Oyaji!' _his mind screamed as the blows continued. '_Please. Please help me.'_

'_Oyaji!'_

* * *

"_No! Stop it! Leave him alone."_

"_Musuko!"_

Kaibara's eyes flew open as he bolted upright in his bed. His breaths came out in short pants as he wiped the sweat off his brow and swung his legs over the side of his cot.

It had been the third nightmare that night. Each one of Kaibara's dreams played out with a somewhat different sequence of events, but the conclusion was always the same: he would be forced to watch, helpless, as Ryo screamed for his help right before Maceno killed him.

As Kaibara took several deep breaths to calm himself, he considered how he was unsure which part of his nightmares was worse: the fact that Ryo always died at the end of them or the fact that Kaibara had to watch his son cry and plead for his father to rescue him…all while knowing that he was powerless to save Ryo.

Kaibara put his head in his hands for a moment before standing up and walking outside to study the stars. He knew that he should probably get some rest before tomorrow, but right now, anything seemed better than enduring another nightmare.

"You can't sleep either, huh?"

Kaibara sighed and shook his head as Norester walked over and stood beside him.

"I got the reports from Tamez," Norester continued. "Apparently, Maceno managed to secure a second-in-command position at that new base, that giant one they just built."

"I am surprised that he was able to do that given his massive failure at commanding his 'death squad'," Kaibara replied.

"Yeah, well rumor is he's made a lot of friends among the top brass," Norester said. "I swear, if he hadn't gone into the military, he probably would have been a perfect fit for the political arena in this country."

"Perhaps it's just as well that he didn't," Kaibara frowned. "He probably could have done even more damage with that kind of power."

"True," Norester nodded. "Anyway, it looks like they took Ryo to that base, and that creates a problem. That place is built like a fortress, and from what we can tell, a little over a hundred soldiers are stationed there."

"That really could be a problem if the soldiers there are of a better caliber than the ones we fought today," Kaibara replied.

"And apparently they are," Norester nodded. "From what Tamez could tell, those soldiers who were sent out were ones who were already on thin ice for incompetence and insubordination. They had been sent to that base recently by the higher ups to be 'whipped into fighting shape' by Maceno. I guess Maceno, however, had other plans for them."

"So that was Maceno's goal?" Kaibara asked. "To eradicate the soldiers who he felt did not live up to his standards under his command?"

"Seems that way," Norester said. "Although, based on what Tamez told me, I think Maceno also has a bone to pick with us, and kidnapping Ryo was a central part of his plan."

"It is also likely that Maceno's demands will be ridiculous ones that he knows Galvez will never agree to, meaning that one or both of us could be forced into a vulnerable position in order to appease him," Kaibara said. "This way, he can take his revenge by either killing Ryo or by getting rid of at least one of us."

Kaibara went back to looking at the stars silently and Norester watched him for a moment before speaking again.

"Kaibara, breaking into that place will be difficult, but it's not impossible," he said. "With the right group of men supporting us, I am sure that we can make a go of it. We can still rescue Ryo."

"Do you believe that Galvez will agree to carry out an operation like that?" Kaibara said.

"Why shouldn't he?" Norester asked. "Granted, it's dicey, but if we succeed, not only will get Ryo back, we'll be able to deal a huge blow to the military's presence in this area of the country. The way I see it, the potential rewards vastly outweigh the risks."

"So it seems," Kaibara replied. He then took a couple of steps away from Norester and focused his attention on the moon, which had a pale golden hue to it.

"That first night," Kaibara said quietly. "The first night Ryo was here, the sky looked just like this. I tried to get him to go to sleep more than once, but he started to cry every time I told him to get into bed. So, I let him sit with me instead and we watched the stars appear and the moon rise. I told him an old Japanese folk tale about a rabbit who lives on the moon and makes rice cakes, and eventually he fell asleep with a smile on his face. For some reason, I could not bring myself to move him to the bed, so I ended up holding him in my lap and watching the sky for hours while he slept."

Kaibara took a deep breath and tilted his head slightly in an effort to work a kink out of his neck.

"Looking back on it now, I remember that I had a faint inkling that something had changed on that night," he said. "I believe that somehow, I knew that my life was about to become far more complicated, but also far more…dynamic, more vibrant than it had ever been before."

Norester gulped and lowered his head as he listened to this. It was very rare for Kaibara to speak openly and frankly about the things close to his heart, and it was disconcerting for Norester to hear him share this memory with him.

"Kaibara," he said softly. "I am sorry. I am so sorry for the things I said to you earlier today. You were right. I have no business telling you how to raise Ryo in a place like this. I keep thinking about Mary, and I…I can't even imagine what you are going through right now." Kaibara chuckled and turned to Norester with a smirk on his face.

"Apologizing to me? That's quite unlike you," he said. "If I didn't know my partner so well, I would be asking what you've done with the real Stephen Norester by now." Kaibara watched Norester respond with a weak smile of his own, and the two of them shared a brief laugh before becoming more somber again.

"The fact is though, there is no need for you to apologize," Kaibara added. "You were well within your rights to say those things to me because you have also made a commitment to Ryo and have played a large role in his life."

Kaibara turned around and took a couple of steps before pausing to glance back at Norester.

"I know that it took me a while to realize this truth," he said. "And you can thank the Professor for that because, for once in his life, he said something profound, something that I apparently needed to hear."

"Which was?" Norester asked.

"That I needed to reevaluate my priorities," Kaibara replied as he walked away.

* * *

Ryo carefully cracked his eyes open and groaned. He tried to gauge how much time had passed since the men finally gave up on beating him and had tossed him into some kind of cage, but time seemed elastic and uncertain right now.

He then decided to try to find a way to escape instead. He tried struggling out of the ropes around his wrists again, but soon realized that they were just as tight as before.

'_I can't give up,' _Ryo told himself. '_If Norester and oyaji were here, they would tell me to keep trying, no matter how much it hurts.'_

His determination renewed, Ryo increased his struggles, working frantically to loosen the ropes binding him. Eventually, the skin on his wrists was raw and soon he felt a warm trickle of blood run down his arms, but he was no closer to freeing his hands. He paused for a moment and gasped, the gag in his mouth making it hard to breathe, before trying again.

His struggles abruptly stopped, however, when he felt someone grab him by the arm and drag him out of the cage and onto the floor. Ryo closed his eyes seconds before the hood over his head was removed again, and he heard the sound of laughter from above him.

"Trying to escape, are you?" Maceno's voice sneered at him. "Pitiful. If only Kaibara could see his precious student now. He would realize how much of a failure you are."

Ryo kept his eyes closed even as he felt Maceno move closer to him, remove the strip of cloth covering his lips and pull the gag out of his mouth.

"Open your eyes," Maceno ordered. "I said open them."

Ryo pressed his lips together and kept his eyes clamped shut. Maceno yanked him up into a sitting position, and suddenly, Ryo felt the cold edge of a knife pressed against his throat.

"Open your eyes or I will open them with this," Maceno hissed into his ear. Ryo's breath stuttered as he slowly lifted his eyelids and saw that Maceno's face was only inches away from his own.

"Good boy," Maceno grinned as he backed away. "You should know now that things will go much easier for you if you cooperate and that making me angry should be avoided at all costs."

Maceno slipped the knife back into its sheath and stood up. He walked across the room and poured some water into a glass from a pitcher that was sitting on a nearby table. He then crouched back down in front of Ryo and held the glass out to him.

"I imagine that you're thirsty," Maceno said. "If you hold still, I will give you some water. If you don't…well, I don't think you want to find out what will happen to you. Now, let's see how well you listen."

Maceno moved closer and placed the rim of the glass against Ryo's lips, pausing for a moment before tilting it upward. His mouth cottony and tasting of bile, Ryo eagerly parted his lips and drank greedily from the glass.

"I see that you learn quickly," Maceno smiled as he watched Ryo drain the water from the cup. "I am glad. Perhaps this will all go much easier than I thought it would."

Ryo finished most of what was in the glass, and Maceno pulled it away, sitting it back on the table behind him. Maceno continued to smile and Ryo smirked back for a second before spitting in his face. Maceno glowered for a moment, his eyes filling with rage while he wiped the salvia from his face, but then he started to laugh again.

"So, you still have some fight in you after all," he chortled. "I think I may have underestimated you, Saeba."

Maceno's smile swiftly changed to a frown, however, and he slapped Ryo across the face several times before grabbing him and shoving him against the floor. Ryo managed to turn his head back to see Maceno take another syringe out of his pocket, and he started to thrash in an attempt to get away.

"Now now, no need to get so upset," Maceno said as he plunged the needle into Ryo's neck. "This dose won't be as strong as the last one. You should be able to remain conscious this time."

Maceno then yanked the needle away and tightened his grip on Ryo, ensuring that he could not wriggle away. A few moments later, Ryo began to feel light-headed and woozy again, and Maceno nodded and released his hold on him.

"There, now I know that I will have your undivided attention," Maceno said. "I want to discuss a proposition with you. You tell me what I want to know about Galvez, Norester and Kaibara and their fellow guerrillas, and I will give you a swift and painless death. How does that sound?"

Ryo moaned as he felt his stomach churn and he swallowed as quickly as he could to push down the bile that was rising in his throat. His vision seemed to waver, and Ryo shook his head slightly as he tried to clear it.

"Well, what is your answer?" Maceno said. "Shall I release you from your suffering or would you like me to continue this game with you?"

"I…don't know…anything," Ryo croaked out. Maceno frowned and shook his head.

"Eh, what a pity," Maceno shrugged. "Such misguided loyalty. Tell me, do you honestly think that Galvez or even Kaibara would be so loyal and would keep their mouths shut just to protect you?"

Maceno scooted over to sit closer to Ryo and tapped his fingers hard against Ryo's forehead so he would look up at him.

"I have done some research on you," Maceno said. "A good soldier always learns as much as possible about his opponents, as I'm sure you learned during your training. I heard about a plane that crashed here six years ago, a passenger plane from Japan. The official word was that there were no survivors, but I have heard stories that that was not quite true. There was one survivor, a little boy who happened to come across Galvez's guerrilla troop by accident and who ended up under the protection of the 'Angels of Destruction'. There are even whispers that one of them, Shin Kaibara, not only protects this boy, but also refers to him his own son. They say that he actually lets this child call him 'father' and that the boy practically worships him."

Maceno chuckled and smirked as he leaned back while making sure to stare into Ryo's eyes.

"That child is you, is it not, Ryo Saeba?" he added. "Interesting thing though, I have a friend in the government who was able to let me take a peek at the manifest for that flight. There were no passengers with the name 'Saeba' on the list, so I deduce that Kaibara gave you that name himself. Perhaps because the shock of the crash made you forget your real name? Haven't you ever wondered why Kaibara gave you that name instead of his own?"

Ryo blinked in surprise and Maceno laughed again in response.

"Didn't that occur to you before?" Maceno smirked. "Interesting. He is supposed to be your father, isn't he? And yet, he made sure to not give you his name. I understand that his partner, Norester, has a daughter, and that she bears his name. After all, it's part of being a father, is it not?"

Ryo's head lolled to the side as sweat poured down his face and nausea filled him. He felt himself falling unconscious, but Maceno slapped his cheek the moment his eyelids started to drift shut, forcing him to stay awake.

"That Kaibara, he is a clever one," Maceno said. "He has many, many enemies, as I am sure you know by now. I'm certain that he has asked himself many times how he could better protect himself against them. But then in an incredible stroke of luck, an opportunity just happens to fall from the sky, literally. A child comes along, a child who, as it turns out, has potential for this kind of work. A child who he could train as a soldier and who can act as a buffer against those enemies. And what better way to ensure this child's loyalty than to convince him that he's his father now."

Maceno laughed again and put his hand under Ryo's chin, tilting his face upward.

"I can see it all now," Maceno said. "Tell me, did Kaibara make sure to praise you as his son whenever you did well in your training? Did he feed you some line about how he was training you just so that he could be sure that you would be safe? Did he even go as far as to tell you some fairy tale about how it didn't matter that you weren't related by blood, and that the only thing that mattered was the bond you shared with him? I'm sure he did. But I'm also certain that he made sure not to get too emotionally attached to you, as evidenced by the fact that he gave you a different family name from his. See, giving you his name would have been a declaration of a tie binding you together, of his acceptance of you as his family. And Kaibara, well he just couldn't have that. That wouldn't have suited his purpose for you."

Maceno moved his hand away, and Ryo let his head droop down, partially because of the disorientation he felt from the drugs, and partially as a way to hide the tears that were forming in his eyes.

'_It's not true…is it?' _Ryo asked himself. '_I'm not just some kid learning to be a soldier to oyaji. He calls me musuko. He promised to protect me and to always be a part of my life for as long as he could. He wouldn't do all of that if I was just a puppet or a burden like Maceno says…right?'_

Ryo tried to ignore the things Maceno was telling him, but he couldn't deny that Maceno was not totally wrong in his statements. His thoughts were becoming increasingly jumbled, making it even harder to separate the truth from the lies, and the more Maceno talked, the more his ideas seemed plausible to Ryo.

A pair of tears finally slid down Ryo's face, and Maceno nodded sympathetically at the sight.

"Yes, the truth is painful, isn't it?" he said. "But that is often how life is. As much as I am sure you hunger for things like paternal love and understanding, in the end, people like me, like Kaibara, must always think of our own interests first and foremost. There is no room in our lives for liabilities like you."

Maceno reached over and touched a tear that was clinging to the edge of Ryo's chin, flicking it away with his index finger.

"You see, you have no reason to be so beholden to Kaibara or to any of them for that matter," Maceno said. "So, just tell me what I want to know, and I will put an end to your pain."

"I…I…" Ryo whispered.

"Yes?"

"I don't know…I don't know anything," Ryo said. Maceno frowned and stood up.

"I see," he said. "It looks as though I will have to be even more persuasive."

He grabbed Ryo by the collar of his jacket and pulled him outside. He ended up dragging Ryo along the ground for a few feet until he stopped and shoved Ryo in front of him. Ryo was about to ask what was going on when he whimpered at the sight of a small plane that was directly in front of him.

"I have heard that when a person undergoes a great trauma, like say, a plane crash, it can leave deep-seated phobias in their psyches," Maceno said. "Granted, I haven't experienced this first hand, but right now seems like the perfect time to test this theory."

"_Please, please don't," _Ryo cried, slipping into Japanese. "_Please don't make me go."_

"You know that I can't understand a word of your gibberish," Maceno scowled. "So just for that, I say we go for a little spin. It's been a while since I've flown a plane, but I think it will all come back to me quick enough. Just don't be surprised if the ride is a little rough."

Maceno hauled Ryo up to his feet and pushed him into the back of the plane before getting into the pilot's seat. He ignored Ryo's screams as he turned on the engine and worked the controls.

"Are you ready for your flight, Saeba?" Maceno laughed. "I promise that it will be one that you will not forget any time soon."

"_Please let me go," _Ryo sobbed. "_I don't know anything. Oyaji said it was safer for me that way. Please stop."_

Maceno drove the plane down the makeshift runway, and Ryo's screams grew louder, his heart beating wildly while his mind was consumed with terror. Soon, all Ryo could perceive were memories of screams, smoke, and a violent descent to the ground.

"_Oyaji! Help me! Please help me! Make it stop, oyaji! Please make it stop!"_

Ryo spent the next few minutes screaming and crying, his voice quickly becoming hoarse, until he mercifully passed out.

* * *

The next morning, Kaibara and Norester hid in the underbrush near the place where their battle took place yesterday, waiting for the delivery of Maceno's ransom demands.

They had arrived almost two hours earlier than what Maceno had appointed for the drop-off time just in case Maceno was planning on setting some kind of trap for them. After surveying their surrounding for almost an hour, Norester and Kaibara were satisfied that nothing was amiss and took their positions so they could watch and wait.

"You think Maceno is actually going to give us his demands?" Norester asked.

"He will," Kaibara nodded. "It's part of the game for him."

Seconds after he said this, the two of them watched as a soldier crept out into the open, his rifle sweeping the area around him. After a couple of minutes of this, the soldier pulled an envelope from his jacket and carefully sat it down on the hood of the truck that had been abandoned. He then ran away and Norester and Kaibara waited for a few minutes after he left to go out and retrieve the envelope. Norester grabbed it and tore it open.

"What does it say?" Kaibara asked.

"Well, Maceno doesn't think small, I'll give him that," Norester scoffed. "He wants Galvez to send him a list of the locations of all the guerrilla groups in the resistance, along with information about their members and battle capabilities. And he wants this list delivered by either me or you. Preferably by both of us. We do that, and he'll release Ryo into the jungle."

"Is that all?" Kaibara smirked. "And here I thought that he was going to be unreasonable."

"We need to talk to Galvez," Norester said. "According to this, we only have until noon tomorrow before he drops Ryo's head at this same spot."

Kaibara nodded and the two of them began their journey back to the village. As he walked, Kaibara tried to think of what he could use to argue his case to Galvez.

But he could not shake a sinking feeling that nothing he said would matter.

* * *

Two hours later, Kaibara saw his worst fears come to life as Galvez listened to Norester's plans and soundly rejected all of them.

"I told you yesterday that we will not make any deals with the military," Galvez said. "And I'm certainly not going to play into Maceno's hands with some cockeyed deal like this."

"Sir, we are not suggesting that you give in to Maceno's demands," Kaibara spoke up. "We are simply asking for a group of men to take with us to retrieve Saeba from their base."

"Are you mad?" Galvez said. "You want to storm that place? That fortress with over a hundred well-trained soldiers guarding it? What on earth makes you think that I will agree to this fool's errand?"

"We are not like the military, sir," Kaibara replied. "We do not abandon our own."

"A noble response, just what I would expect from you, Kaibara," Galvez nodded. "But we both know that this is not just about protecting a comrade, not for you."

"That is irrelevant," Kaibara said. "The fact is that Saeba is a highly trained soldier whose skills are increasing exponentially. It will only be a matter of time before his abilities will exceed those of almost everyone else here. He is a great asset to our troop, an asset worth fighting for."

"He might have been an asset before he was captured," Galvez said. "But now he is a liability, and I hope that you and Norester remember what I said about not letting him become a liability."

Norester frowned and gritted his teeth while Kaibara's expression became completely impassive as Galvez's intent became clear.

"Kaibara, I am not without sympathy," Galvez continued. "Saeba was a good child and an excellent soldier in the making. And I understand that you might feel a sense of loss…but that is the nature of war."

"Sir, you speak as if Saeba is already dead," Kaibara said.

"That's because there is a good chance that he already is," Galvez replied. "A fact that I am sure has not escaped your mind. If he isn't dead by now, he will be by tomorrow. It is regrettable, but I'm afraid there is nothing we can do."

Both Norester and Kaibara had many other things they wanted to say, but the two of them knew that it was useless to argue at this point. They left Galvez's quarters and Norester went off to talk to some of the men while Kaibara retreated back to his hut.

As he walked, Galvez's words ran through his mind, and Kaibara found that he couldn't completely disagree with them. He himself had lived by similar imperatives. Years of fighting and warfare had taught Kaibara the bitter truth about the price people often had to pay for freedom and liberation, but it had not been enough to make his belief in the importance of these things waver in the least.

This was the first time, however, that Kaibara began to question the very causes he had spent years fighting for, and the thought of that did not sit well with him as he approached his hut.

Once he was there, he sank down onto his cot and stared at the empty space in Ryo's side of the hut for what seemed like the umpteenth time in the last day or so. He then pulled out a small, leather portfolio from his pocket and opened it up to gaze at a photograph of him and Ryo. In it, Ryo was grinning, his hands flashing victory symbols at the camera while Kaibara stood behind him, his hands on Ryo's shoulders and a smile of his own on his face.

Kaibara ran his finger along the edges of the picture, and contemplated how the photo could never truly convey how effervescent Ryo's smile was, how infectious his cheer was, or how disarming his charm tended to be.

'_He has the heart of an angel inside of him. I can see it in his eyes and in his smile.' _

Even though it had been months since Leticia had died, Kaibara could still remember every word she said during those last days they spent together, including the ones she said about Ryo. Kaibara found that he completely understood what she meant by that on the day that he had received the news of her death. Despite the fact that Kaibara lashed out at anyone who came near him that day, Ryo chose to stay with him and comfort him as best he could. He hadn't been able to appreciate it at the time, but Kaibara did not forget about it either. As he thought back to the years he had spent raising Ryo, he realized that there had been numerous times when he had been stunned at the generous spirit Ryo possessed, a spirit that frequently offered forgiveness, mercy and kindness freely while asking for little in return.

All of these memories did not prepare him, however, for the overt display of love and familial devotion Ryo had shown him that night. Kaibara was all too aware that even his own parents had not cared for him as much as Ryo did, and it had left an indelible impression on Kaibara's heart.

It eventually became the part of the reason why Kaibara pushed Ryo even harder during his training. Kaibara knew that there was no way that he could extricate himself from the bond he had with Ryo, so the only option that remained for him was to make sure that nothing happened to his son. It had been part of an all-consuming need to make sure that he would not have to experience that kind of pain again. He had been so focused on this goal; it did not occur to him what he could lose by neglecting his son in other aspects of his life.

Unable to contain his emotions any longer, Kaibara dropped the portfolio onto the floor, and put his head in his hands while tears brimmed in his eyes. Before this moment, he didn't think that anything could be worse than losing the woman he had loved for years, but now he was faced with the terrible realization of just how wrong he was.

It was then that Kaibara was forced to admit the truth that he had been trying to dodge for over a day now: that if Ryo died, a large part of him would die too. That thought made his heart ache and constrict painfully, but it also gave Kaibara a sense of clarity that he had not expected.

He picked up the portfolio from the floor and stuffed it back into his pocket while taking a deep breath. He then pulled out his gun and began to load it while Norester walked into his hut.

"Damn Galvez," Norester growled. "Maceno has got him so spooked, he's scared to take any sort of chance against him."

Kaibara did not respond and continued to load his Magnum. Once he was done, he checked it over and placed it in its holster before pulling out his rifle to inspect it.

"Kaibara, I…I 'm so sorry," Norester said. "I know that means next to nothing right now, but I….Damn, I miss the kid too. I don't think I'll ever get over him."

"Norester, I need you to do me a favor," Kaibara said softly.

"Anything."

"I need you to take a couple of men and position yourselves in that spot we use to spy on that new base," Kaibara said. "Make sure to be there by early tomorrow morning and be on the lookout for me and Ryo. There's a good chance that we will not be showing up by ourselves."

"Kaibara? What are you saying? Are you actually thinking of going there alone to get Ryo?" Norester asked, incredulous. "What on earth are you thinking? Since when do you go with insane ideas like this?"

"You said it yourself once," Kaibara replied as he finished loading his rifle. "Fatherhood changes a person. I simply cannot stay here and do nothing while Maceno has Ryo."

"Kaibara, listen to me," Norester said. "What you're planning, it's suicide, plain and simple. Besides…as much as neither of us want to say it…we both know that Galvez could very well be right about Ryo already being dead."

"Norester…if it was Mary, if Mary was the one being held by that butcher, what would you do?" Kaibara asked, quietly. "Would you simply give up or would you be willing to face anything, even death, if there was any chance that you could save her?"

Norester opened his mouth to reply but remained silent. He knew that there was only one answer that he could give to a question like that, and he was certain that Kaibara knew exactly what he would say.

Kaibara finished checking all of his weapons in silence and walked outside with Norester close behind.

"Kaibara," Norester said. "Just in case I don't get another chance to say it, I…"

"I know," Kaibara smiled at him. "And thank you. I feel the exact same way. Oh and one last favor: please thank for the Professor for me. He will understand why."

"I will," Norester nodded. "Anything else you want me to tell him?" Kaibara paused and then looked back at Norester with a smirk.

"If he asks where I'm going, tell him that I'm going to get my son back."


	13. The Sacrifice-part three

Author's Note: Next chapter. Finals are done and the semester is finally over. :) So I hope to have more updates for the next couple of weeks.

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

**Eve: **Thank you for the review, as always. :) Yes, I thought the ending had a feel much like how Ryo would would prepare to battle some group of villains who he was particularly mad at. :) And yes, I always imagined that Ryo had his strong loyalty for the people closest to him from a young age...This chapter will be long, but funnily enough, it was originally going to be much longer. ;) I ended up splitting this one into two chapters, and plan on putting up the other one some time this week. So I hope you enjoy this first half. :)

Chapter Thirteen—The Sacrifice—part three

When Ryo opened his eyes again, he found that he did not care that he didn't know how much time had passed or that he couldn't see or move. The only things he could bring himself to care about were the realization that Maceno was not in the room and the flicker of gratitude he felt as a result.

He thought about trying to escape again, but after thrashing about for a few minutes in an effort to loosen the ropes binding him, he collapsed onto the floor of the cage, panting for air as best he could through the gag in his mouth. He still felt queasy from the drugs that Maceno kept injecting into him, and the pain from the repeated beatings he had received was becoming impossible to ignore. He was weak, exhausted and his temples throbbed.

Making things even worse was the fresh wound on his chest. It had been the last thing Maceno had done to him before leaving this most recent time, and it continued to bleed and burn as if it was on fire.

He tried to think of some way to get away from Maceno before he returned, but every time he started to formulate some kind of plan, Ryo's thoughts would drift back to all the things that Maceno had told him during their last round of interrogation: about the futility of trying to survive, about his worthlessness as a soldier and about Kaibara's intention to discard him now that he had outlived his usefulness.

* * *

"Do you honestly think that Galvez is going to rally his guerrillas to save you?" Maceno had asked him after he had regained consciousness from his plane ride. "Do you think Kaibara is going to miraculously appear and rescue you? Is that the hope you are clinging to? Is that why you keep resisting?"

Ryo had said nothing, the shock from the flight still making him unable to think straight. He licked his lips which had become chapped, and he longed for even a sip of water to stave off his growing thirst. Maceno noted the gesture and had been able to guess what Ryo was thinking. He poured another glass of water and held it inches from Ryo's face.

"You want this?" Maceno asked him. "I imagine you do. All that screaming you did on the plane, all the vomiting and sweating from the drugs, I'm sure that all of it has made you very thirsty. Tell me, what are you willing to do for this water? Are you willing to beg for it? Yes, I want to hear you beg. Do that, and I will give you a drink."

Ryo gulped, his throat seeming to stick in place as he tried to swallow. His lips parted slightly, driven by a desperate need to slake his thirst. He did not want to give in to even one of Maceno's demands, his determination driven by the anger and hate he felt toward him. But as much as he wanted to hold fast to this resolution, he could not disregard the one directive that his father had made a priority to impress upon him: to do what was necessary to survive.

"Please," Ryo rasped.

"What was that?" Maceno grinned while making an elaborate gesture to hold a hand to his ear. Ryo glared at him and licked his lips again.

"Please," he repeated. "Please give me some water." Maceno's grin grew even wider.

"Yes, I like the sound of that," he laughed. "The sound of you pleading with me." Maceno grabbed Ryo and pulled his head back by the hair as he poured the water into his open mouth.

"I wonder, does this feel familiar to you?" Maceno asked as he listened to Ryo gulp down the water as fast as he could. "I hear that you spent some time alone in the jungle after your plane crash before finding Galvez's guerrillas. You were probably frantic for sustenance by then. Did you beg Kaibara for food, for water? Or maybe, maybe he just gave them to you. I bet you were so grateful; you would have done anything he asked. And do not think for one second that Kaibara was not aware of that."

After letting Ryo take in a couple of swallows of water, Maceno yanked the glass away and shoved Ryo back onto the floor.

"Do you not see by now?" Maceno said. "It's not unlike when someone finds a stray dog and feeds it. Kaibara saw a use for you and so he kept you around. And you, so lost and so vulnerable, you let yourself be convinced that you were something more than just another weapon in Kaibara's arsenal."

Maceno crouched down and sat Ryo back up against the wall.

"Don't tell me that you are still thinking that someone will be coming here for you," he sneered. "Let me tell you something about this place. General Hervas, the man in charge, he is on the dull side, but he certainly knows how to get a real fortress built. And I've taken the precaution of staffing it with over seventy soldiers who I trained personally, and that's not counting the troop of forty that came with Hervas in the first place. Maybe if Galvez sent his entire guerrilla group here, he might have a chance of defeating us, but I have it on good authority that he has no intention of mounting an attack on us. Or…maybe you actually think the 'Angels of Destruction' are going to try to get their pet back?"

Maceno laughed again, before balling one hand into a fist and striking Ryo on the cheek. Ryo began to slide down onto the floor, but Maceno grabbed his jacket by the collar and held him upright.

"Get it through your head, it's hopeless," Maceno had shouted at him. "Even if those two were foolhardy enough to try and come here, they would be cut down by my men in no time. Given all of that, do you actually think that Kaibara would be stupid enough to try to rescue you? He and I, we are the same. We are warriors who walk among sheep, superior in every way to those who cower and rely on us to protect them. Men like us, we would not throw away our lives just to save one sniveling little boy."

Maceno let Ryo go and pulled the knife out of his sheath and a lighter out of his pocket.

"I am giving you one last chance," Maceno said as he flicked the lighter on and let the flame dance along the edge of the blade. "Maybe you don't know the intricate details of Galvez's battle plans, but I am certain that you could tell me something I could use against those so-called 'Angels of Destruction'. Some little tidbit you picked up during all of your time spent with Kaibara. Give me that, and I will end this now."

Ryo tried to wriggle away, but Maceno stood up and stopped him with a kick to the chest. He then pressed his foot onto Ryo's abdomen to hold him in place.

"Well, what is your answer?" Maceno barked at him.

Ryo stared at the knife in Maceno's hand and was not able to stop himself from whimpering in fear at what he knew was coming. For a brief second, Ryo considered trying to bargain with Maceno and telling him something harmless about Kaibara as a way to stall and avoid this latest torture. He thought again about Kaibara's insistence to do whatever it took to live and figured that telling Maceno what he wanted to know could be considered a way to comply with that order.

Ryo also knew, however, no matter what Maceno did to him, no matter how Kaibara might have used him, he still knew Kaibara as _oyaji_, as his father…and there was no way he could do anything that could possibly cause his father harm.

"I don't know anything," Ryo whispered. "And even if I did…I wouldn't tell you."

"I see," Maceno sighed. "In the end, you are nothing but a stupid child after all. Consider this the price of your stupidity."

Maceno dropped the lighter and reached down pulled Ryo's shirt down to expose the top of his chest. Ryo turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut as Maceno brought the knife down and ran it along his skin.

For a second, Ryo couldn't breathe. All he knew was an intense searing pain that stole his breath and stopped all coherent thought. In the next second though, he managed to gasp for air and that was enough to bring forth a scream from deep inside his lungs. Maceno let him go, and Ryo writhed on the floor in agony and struggled to regain some shred of his senses.

Maceno watched him silently for several minutes before grabbing him to shove the gag back into his mouth. Ryo shook his head vigorously back and forth to avoid it, but Maceno throttled him for a moment, disorienting Ryo enough so that Maceno could push the gag in and put the cloth back over his lips. He then placed the hood back over his head and dragged him back to the cage to throw him into it.

"Know this, Saeba," Maceno said as he locked the door of the cage. "The next time you see me, it will be the end. I will be cutting you into pieces, and I will be sure to send them, one at a time, to Kaibara…starting with your head."

* * *

Ryo's eyes filled with tears again as Maceno's words continued to echo in his head, drowning out most other thoughts. His heart continued to spiral downward in terror and despair until, suddenly, a memory of a voice came to him.

'_Ryo, listen to me, I know that Shin is not always open with his feelings, but you should know that you are very dear to him…'_

'_Leticia,' _he thought to himself. '_She…she wanted me to remember…to remember something….'_

Ryo sniffled as her words slowly came back to him. From the moment he first met her, Ryo thought that Leticia was a beautiful woman, both in body and in spirit, and he perceived her as someone he could trust. He remembered how she had made him promise to never forget the things she told him about Kaibara and how Kaibara viewed him.

'_Was she wrong?' _he wondered. '_Is it just like Maceno said? That I was just a stray dog, a tool to be used and thrown away?'_

Ryo hiccupped as his face grew hot and his body trembled. Despite the suffering and desolation that had overtaken him, Ryo found that he did not want to die. But he could not see any other outcome at this point either. He shivered for several minutes until another thought came to him.

'_It doesn't matter,' _he told himself. '_I was supposed to die in that plane crash anyway. Everyone says that that's what should have happened. And it doesn't matter why oyaji chose to take care of me. I still got to have some fun, have some happiness.'_

'_I got to live a little while longer.'_

Ryo closed his eyes and felt himself become increasingly lethargic as his fear of dying evolved into calm acceptance of his fate.

Ryo squirmed and craned his neck as he tried to shift the hood off his face. He wasn't sure what time of day it was, but he wanted the chance to see the sky one more time before he died, whether it was the sun beaming down between piles of white, fluffy clouds or the moon drifting in a sea of stars.

'_The moon…the moon,'_ Ryo mused. '_I remember oyaji saying something about the moon…the rabbit in the moon….'_

Ryo's eyes widened as the memory came back to him. The first night he had showed up at the guerrilla camp, Kaibara had offered him his cot so he could get some rest. But after spending more than one day and night in the jungle, Ryo was too frightened to sleep alone. Kaibara soon relented and let Ryo sit in his lap so they could watch the night sky together. Kaibara then told him a story about a rabbit on the moon until he fell asleep, and when Ryo woke up the next morning, he found Kaibara lightly dozing while still holding him in his lap.

The next night, Kaibara once again instructed Ryo to get some sleep, and Ryo begged him to tell him the story of the rabbit on the moon.

"_Again? Didn't I tell you that story last night?" _Kaibara asked him.

"_Please," _Ryo pleaded. "_Just until I fall asleep."_

"_All right," _Kaibara sighed, a trace of a smile on his face. "_But this time, you're getting into bed first."_

The next two weeks played out in the same fashion. Every night, Ryo would get into bed, and every night Kaibara told him the same story until he fell asleep. A couple times, Ryo was afraid that Kaibara would eventually lose his patience with him for making this request over and over again, but to his continued surprise, Kaibara would simply sigh and do as he was asked without complaint. It was only when Ryo stopped asking for this story every night that Kaibara put a halt to this ritual.

It was this memory that finally released the tears from Ryo's eyes.

'_Why did he do that? If it's all like Maceno said, why did he do that for me? It's not like he had to do that for me to survive. He could have just refused and there would have been nothing I could do about it.'_

'_Why? Why did oyaji do that for me?'_

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ryo understood that he already knew the answer…and that truth was enough to convince him that there was a chance that Maceno had lied to him.

Ryo sniffed hard and closed his eyes. Even though he was prepared to die, he still wished that he could see his father one last time so he could thank him for choosing to take care of him. He soon decided, however, that it was just as well that that wish did not come true.

'_It's all right,' _he told himself. '_If oyaji came here, he could get hurt or even killed. It's better this way. Now he will be safe and free…now he won't have to bother with me anymore….'_

Ryo's eyes suddenly rolled back and he fainted as a result of the drugs in his system and from the shock and pain of his injuries.

* * *

Sergeant Floras was bored.

He had made a foolish bet in a game of poker against Juevera and the price had been an entire week of night duty with Cobelo as his partner.

'_Damn that Juevera,' _Floras cursed to himself as he lit a cigarette. '_He knows how insufferable Cobelo is and that's why he stuck me with this. I bet he cheated just so he could get out of it.'_

Floras blew a lazy ring of smoke and wedged his cigarette into a corner of his mouth. Cobelo had mentioned "the call of nature" a few minutes previous. By this point though, Floras wondered what was taking him so long.

"Hey, Cobelo, just how long does it take you to pee anyway?" Floras called out. After waiting for a minute and getting no answer, Floras frowned.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked. "Stop fooling around and get over here. Hey!"

"I'm afraid that he cannot answer you right now…or ever again for that matter."

Floras jumped and grabbed at his rifle, wildly sweeping it back and forth in an effort to find the source of the voice he had heard.

"Who are you?" Floras said. "What are you doing here?"

There was no answer and Floras sweated as he searched for the person who had spoken. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a man, a man with black eyes, a smirk on his lips and who was wearing a blood-stained uniform. Seconds later, he felt the blade of a knife against his skin.

"Who I am makes no difference," a voice whispered into Floras' ear as his throat was slit. "But if you must know, I am Shin Kaibara."

"And I am here to take back the child you stole from me."

* * *

Meanwhile, in one of the barracks, two other men, Hierro and Imas, wondered why Juevera had not stopped by to join them for a late night poker game.

"I thought Juevera would be here by now," Hierro said, scratching his head. "Especially since he was able to sucker Floras into guard duty with Cobelo."

"Yeah, that was a fast one that he pulled," Imas laughed. "He better avoid Floras for a while or he's likely to get punched in the face."

"Come to think of it, Endoso was supposed to drop by too," Hierro said. "And yet, he's hasn't shown up either."

"Sheesh, where is everyone?" Imas huffed. "You'd think they disappeared from the face or the earth or something."

"I'll go find out what's going on," Hierro said as he walked out the door. "Just don't start the game without me."

"I won't if you make sure to hurry up," Imas laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll be back in two minutes tops," Hierro smirked back.

Imas laughed again and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. In that moment, he had no way of knowing that he would never see Hierro again.

Nor could he have known that he would meet the same fate as Hierro only minutes later.

* * *

Over in another part of the base, Maceno let out a long sigh as he sipped at his brandy and listened to Hervas drone on and on about his ambition to build a string of bases like this one along the border.

'_Is that all you can think about?' _Maceno wondered to himself. '_You should have been an architect instead of a general. It would have suited you far better and you might have even shown some hint of talent in the profession.'_

Maceno was about to excuse himself when there was a knock on the door and one of the soldiers, Ortiz, walked in and saluted.

"Sir, we have a problem," Ortiz said. "We can't seem to find Sergeant Floras or Corporals Dalma, Imas or Lapaz."

"Huh? You're saying that they're missing?" Hervas asked.

"It appears so," Ortiz answered. "They were supposed to check in for guard duty and haven't shown up."

"I know Floras and Imas," Maceno sighed. "Chances are, they are trying to sneak in another one of their late-night poker games. Check with Juevera or Hierro if you want to find them."

"That's just it, sir," Ortiz said. "We can't find them either."

"What? What kind of insubordination is this?" Hervas said. "Maceno, you assured me that you had thoroughly trained these men."

"Do not snap at me, General," Maceno glared. "What I told you was the truth, and I will deal with these men myself. Ortiz, go ahead and take Floras' and Cobelo's post for now. If they show up, make sure to tell them that I am looking for them."

"Sir," Ortiz said as he walked out of the office. Maceno finished the brandy in his glass and slammed the glass onto Hervas' desk.

"And now, if you will excuse me as well, General," he said with a smirk. As he walked out of the office, his smirk turned into a frown.

'_Enjoy your command while you can,' _Maceno thought to himself. '_It will be mine before long.'_

* * *

The night fell into its darkest point before the dawn, and in the midst of this, Kaibara continued to stealthily move around the base. He had lost track of how many soldiers he had killed and whose corpses he had taken the time to conceal, but he was confident that he had made a significant reduction in their ranks. This was only a fleeting thought, however, as he returned to the cold void inside him that enabled him to keep his focus and kill without hesitation or remorse.

This state was soon tempered, however, with a growing anxiety in his search for Ryo. Throughout this mission, he had not been able to forget the possibility that the only thing waiting for him here was Ryo's lifeless body, but instead of acting as a deterrent, it further ignited Kaibara's lethal mindset. Still, his mind always returned to his first priority which was saving his son and despite his focus, Kaibara continued to grapple with a sense of dread.

He approached yet another building and studied it through the windows. Kaibara could tell that it was empty and so he quietly crept inside so he could search it. Once he was inside, however, Kaibara felt his heart leap into his throat as he found what he had been looking for.

There in a corner of a room, inside cramped wire cage, was Ryo. His head was covered with a black hood and his wrists and ankles were bound together with rope. Blood had seeped into his shirt, and Kaibara could see that he was breathing, but the breaths were shallow and erratic.

Kaibara dropped to his knees in front of the cage and picked the lock as fast as he could with shaking hands. The lock soon fell to the floor, and he yanked the door open, lifting Ryo up into his arms and out of the cage. He pulled the hood away and discovered that Ryo had been gagged and that he had a large bruise near his cheekbone. He removed the cloth over his mouth and pulled out the gag while also noting Ryo's flushed cheeks and the way his hair was matted to his head with sweat. Ryo remained limp, his eyes closed as Kaibara pulled out his knife and cut the ropes binding him. As the ropes around his wrists fell away, Kaibara found that they were caked with blood, a thin trail of which had also dried onto his forearms. Once he was done, he carefully laid Ryo down on the floor onto his back and lifted his shirt so he could see where the blood was coming from. Kaibara flinched when he found a large, but superficial gash on his chest, the edges of which were red and inflamed and which was surrounded by a mottling of bruises and welts.

'_What did this monster do to you, musuko?' _Kaibara asked silently as he studied Ryo's wounds. Driven by a need he did not fully understand, Kaibara placed a hand onto Ryo's head and smoothed away the strands of hair that were sticking to Ryo's forehead with his thumb. Ryo let out a faint moan, but did not wake up. Kaibara's eyes burned as he leaned close to Ryo's ear.

"_Please forgive me," _he murmured. "_I should have been here long before now."_

Kaibara removed his hand and pulled out a soft cloth and some gauze from a pouch on his hip that he had brought just in case Ryo was injured. He removed Ryo's shirt and jacket and placed a makeshift bandage over the wound, securing it in place with the gauze. He re-dressed Ryo when he was finished and patted his cheek a couple of times in an attempt to rouse him. After getting no response, Kaibara frowned and gently peeled back one of Ryo's eyelids. He stared at the unfocused, dilated pupil for a second before letting it go and watching it slide back shut.

'_Drugged,' _he thought to himself. '_Probably to make him more docile and open to suggestion so Maceno could manipulate him however he wished.' _

Kaibara reached down and gingerly picked Ryo back up into his arms. As he cradled Ryo, hatred stirred to life inside of him, hatred that was far more intense, far more powerful than any Kaibara had ever experienced before. For a moment, his entire mind was centered on a single thought: to make Maceno suffer as much as possible for what he had done to his son.

Soon, the moment passed, however, and Kaibara worked to quell this hatred and felt much of it drift away once he looked down at Ryo's unconscious form. Now was not the time to act on this desire. He needed to focus on getting Ryo to safety and on making sure that Ryo got the treatment and support he needed so he could recover from this nightmare. He held Ryo closer to him and tightened his grip on him while shifting into a crouching position.

"_I'm getting you out of here, musuko," _Kaibara said, as he stood up. He surveyed the surrounding area outside for a couple of moments before cracking the door open and slipping out into the darkness.

* * *

Maceno continued to frown as he wandered around the base. He had expected to hear from Ortiz by now, but had not seen any sign of him ever since he had left Hervas' office some time ago.

Even more disturbing was the fact that by this point, Maceno figured that there were over thirty people who were uncounted for within the base.

'_Is it some kind of mutiny?' _Maceno wondered. '_I had heard some rumblings among my men to seize this base from this incompetent fool, Hervas. But still…it seems strange that they acted without informing me first.'_

Maceno put a hand near his machete and put his senses on alert. If there was some kind of coup underway, he would need to make sure to take control of the chaos so he could use it to his best advantage. He walked toward one of the barracks and was startled by what he saw in the area between it and the building beside it.

There, slumped against the wall of the barracks, was Ryo, and from what Maceno could tell, he was unconscious.

'_How did that brat get out?'_ Maceno wondered. '_He must have been more resourceful that I thought. Not that that resourcefulness did him much good. He only made it a few yards from he was being held.'_

Maceno laughed and pulled out his machete from its sheath as he approached Ryo.

"Well, well Saeba," he chuckled. "One last attempt to free yourself? Pathetic…and all for nothing." He stopped to stand next to Ryo, and gave him a light shove with his foot, smirking as Ryo's body flopped onto the ground.

"I was going to wait until tomorrow to kill you," Maceno said. "But I think you have become far more trouble than you are worth. I suppose you were lucky in one respect though…it appears as if you won't feel much of anything."

Maceno raised his machete and was about to strike when a burst of movement caught his eye. He tried to leap away, but was not able to move fast enough and he was only able to catch a glimpse of a knife before the blade slashed side of his face twice.

Maceno started to scream in pain, but his cries were cut short by a sharp blow to the stomach which made him gasp and fall to the ground. He clamped his hands onto the side of his face and continued to let out a stifled series of wails.

"Maceno…the pain you feel now is nothing compared to what lies in your future," Kaibara said as he emerged from the darkness.

"Ka—Kaibara," Maceno stuttered out. "You…." Kaibara kicked him in the stomach again, halting his words and making Maceno wrap his arms around his waist. Kaibara put his knife away and pulled out his Magnum, pointing it at Maceno's head.

"I have someone infinitely more important than you to attend to, so, unfortunately, there isn't time to give you all that you deserve," Kaibara said. "But know this: as of this moment, you are dead. Feel free to run as fast and as far away as you can, but be aware that no matter how far you run, no matter where you might try to hide, I will find you. And when I do, you will learn the true meaning of pain."

Maceno looked up at Kaibara and his heart nearly stopped. There were multiple splatters of blood all over Kaibara's uniform, and it was then that he realized what had probably happened to all of his men who were missing. He was soon terrified to discover that the gun aimed at his face was far less intimidating than the look icy, venomous gaze that glittered in Kaibara's eyes and the murderous aura that surrounded him. In that moment, he knew that Kaibara was not making empty threats or speaking in the heat of anger. There was an unspoken vow behind Kaibara's words, a vow that was already fact in his mind, a vow that would be fulfilled no matter how long it took.

It was then that Maceno trembled and began to understand the folly in his thinking. For years, he had seen himself as a predator free to seek out prey wherever he wished. He had feared no man. But now, he realized the horrifying truth that, to someone like Shin Kaibara, _he_ was the prey, and for the first time in years, Maceno was terrified.

Maceno's terror turned to amazement, however, as he watched Kaibara become another person as he put his gun away and retrieved Ryo from the ground. He noted the slow, careful movements as Kaibara lifted Ryo up so his injuries would not be unnecessarily aggravated, and the warm look in Kaibara's eyes as he glanced at Ryo's face, a look that could only be called affectionate.

'_How…how can this be?' _Maceno asked himself. '_How could that child have this effect on Kaibara? To take a true predator, a killing machine, like him and make him…human?'_

That tender expression immediately vanished as Kaibara looked back over at him and in its place was a derisive smirk.

"Time for you to sleep," Kaibara said as he walked over toward Maceno. "I can't afford to have you alerting the rest of your men…at least, the ones who are still alive."

Kaibara leapt up and kicked Maceno in the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Until we meet again…Captain Maceno," Kaibara said as he darted away.


	14. The Sacrifice-part four

Author's Note: Next chapter. As it turns out this section will be five parts instead of four. I hope my readers will enjoy it though. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

Chapter Fourteen—The Sacrifice—part four

Kaibara frowned as he ran toward the edge of the base with Ryo in his arms. He had managed to kill a few more soldiers as he dashed about in an effort to escape, but he had had no time to conceal their bodies, and Kaibara could sense that the rest of the men were becoming aware of an intruder roaming among them. He was certain that he would have to confront more than one or two of them at a time soon, and he worried about how to do it while having to carry Ryo.

Kaibara's concerns were soon alleviated, however, as he heard Ryo groan and felt him stir. He hid behind a large stack of crates, and lowered Ryo to the ground while still holding onto him.

"_Ryo, can you hear me?" _Kaibara asked. "_Open your eyes."_

Ryo groaned again, his eyes fluttering open. As he slowly became aware of someone holding him, however, Ryo gasped and immediately struggled to get away, his mouth opening to cry out. Kaibara clamped a hand over Ryo's lips, and held him firmly in place.

"_Calm down, musuko," _Kaibara whispered into his ear. "_It's me, oyaji. I'm not going to hurt you."_

Ryo's struggles instantly stopped and he relaxed in Kaibara's arms, blinking several times to focus his eyes. Kaibara slowly moved his hand away from Ryo's mouth and rubbed his arm.

"_Oyaji?" _Ryo slurred out. Kaibara smiled at him and nodded.

"_Yes, it's me, Ryo," _he said. "_Do you think you can stand? I'm afraid it won't be much longer before the rest of the soldiers discover how industrious I've been here, and we need to get away before that happens."_

Kaibara started to help Ryo get up, but Ryo suddenly grabbed his arms, his eyes shining with tears.

"_You came," _Ryo quavered. "_You came to get me."_

Kaibara blinked in surprise at Ryo's words and at the disbelief and astonishment behind them. For a second, he wondered how Ryo could think that he would abandon him, but then he considered the grim circumstances of his capture along the fact that Ryo had been drugged and tortured. It was then that Kaibara began to understand that he would have to put plenty of care into Ryo's recuperation.

"_Of course," _Kaibara said, making sure to smile at him again. "_Now, I know that it won't be easy for you, but I am going to need you to run. Go ahead and see if you can stand up."_

Ryo nodded and Kaibara let him go so he could try to get up on his own. Ryo grabbed Kaibara's arm for support and slowly got up onto wobbly legs. Ryo weaved about in place for a moment before his stance became steady and he took a couple steps without stumbling.

"_Good," _Kaibara said. "_Listen to me carefully Ryo. Once we start to move, I will need you to keep running as fast as you can, and to not stop for anything other than my order. Understand? No matter what happens, keep going in the direction I tell you and let me handle anyone who might try to follow us."_

"_I understand," _Ryo said.

"_All right," _Kaibara said as he slung his rifle off his shoulder. "_Stay behind me until we get out of here."_

* * *

Moments after Ryo came to and they starting running toward the edge of the base, they heard the sound of men yelling and several soldiers pursuing them. Gunfire soon rang out, and Kaibara shoved Ryo to cover in the underbrush as he turned to face them. There were at least fifteen soldiers running toward him, but it soon became obvious that they were not moving quickly enough. Kaibara crouched down and took aim, his movements fluid and blindingly fast as he shot soldier after soldier, taking only fractions of a second to line up each of his targets. Within the span of little over a minute, the entire group had been eliminated, and Kaibara was on the move again, yanking Ryo to his feet to run in front of him as more soldiers approached from a distance.

As they made their way through the jungle, daylight finally started to appear, worrying Kaibara who had hoped to take advantage of the cover of night for a little while longer. Kaibara continued to sense more soldiers pursuing them, and whenever any of them started to get close, he would have Ryo stop and hide while he got rid of them. At first, Kaibara wondered why his opponents were so persistent, but then he smirked as he thought of one very plausible reason.

'_Maceno…he's hoping to avoid his fate by killing me out here. And yet, I am certain that he is not one of the men chasing us. He's taking the coward's way out by having others fight for him.'_

'_Same as always.'_

The sound of an explosion broke Kaibara's reverie, and he watched Ryo stumble and fall from the reverberation.

'_Looks like they no longer want to get close enough to us for me to kill them,' _he smirked again. '_So they are trying to eliminate us from a distance.'_

Kaibara then noticed how Ryo was panting and trembling and he knew that Ryo was reaching the limits of his endurance and would not be able to run for too much longer. He studied his surroundings for a moment and was relieved to see that they were getting close to their target.

"_Ryo," _Kaibara said as he ran over and pulled Ryo back up. "_I know you are exhausted, but I need you to hold on for a little while longer. We are less than a mile from Norester's position."_

"_Oyaji…I…I can't…."_

"_Yes you can," _Kaibara insisted. "_Push yourself Ryo."_

"_I…I…" _

Ryo started to sway, but Kaibara grabbed him, and held him upright. He then reached down and tilted Ryo's head up toward him.

"_Yes, you can," _Kaibara repeated. "_Because you are very strong, musuko. Use that strength now." _Ryo gulped and continued to shake, but Kaibara was pleased to see a renewed determination in his eyes.

"_I will," _Ryo said. Kaibara nodded, but then his senses warned him of another grenade, and he wrapped his arms around Ryo and jumped to the side to shield him from the explosion. As soon as the smoke began to clear, Kaibara helped Ryo to his feet, and they started to run, with Kaibara pushing Ryo to run ahead of him.

'_Just a little farther,' _Kaibara told himself as they ran. '_I'm sure Norester has heard these explosions and knows we are coming. Any time now, we'll meet up with him…just a little farther….'_

Kaibara heard the sound of gunfire and was so focused on figuring out where it was coming from, that he did not notice another grenade landing only inches from him until it was too late. It exploded seconds later, and Kaibara cried out as the force of the blast tore into his leg and tossed him to the ground. Ryo immediately stopped running and turned back toward him.

"_Oyaji!" _he screamed.

Kaibara gasped and tried to pull himself up, but the pain radiating through his body was too intense and he could no longer feel his left leg. He fell face forward onto the ground and it took almost all of his effort to lift his head.

"_Run," _Kaibara yelled. "_Keep going."_

"_No," _Ryo said. "_I won't leave you."_

Kaibara's head swam as he fought to remain conscious. He was about to yell at Ryo again when another blast erupted a short distance away, knocking Ryo to the ground. Kaibara coughed and waved his arm weakly to clear away the smoke. He was then horrified to discover that Ryo was still laying on the ground and that he wasn't moving.

"_Ryo? Are you all right?" _Kaibara bellowed. "_Answer me."_

Kaibara shivered and moaned as the shock began to settle into his body. Rallying all of his remaining strength, Kaibara lifted himself up onto his elbows and crawled toward Ryo's motionless body.

"_Ryo, can you hear me?" _Kaibara gasped as he inched toward him. "_Wake up."_

Kaibara collapsed onto the ground again and stayed still for several seconds. He could feel blood running down his side and onto the ground from a long gash that had opened up and his leg had become a dead weight. He grunted and clawed at the dirt as he pulled himself along before finally reaching Ryo's side. He put a hand on Ryo's chest and let out a sigh of relief when he felt movement there.

'_The blast must have knocked the wind out of him,' _he thought. '_It doesn't look serious, but still….'_

Kaibara grabbed his arm and tried to shake him, but Ryo continued to remain still. Eventually, he dropped down, his breaths coming out in agonized stutters. He heard more gunfire and was certain that any moment now, enemy soldiers would be bearing down on them. In a last push of effort, Kaibara pulled Ryo close to him and covered his body with his own. Logically, he knew that it wouldn't make much difference, but something inside Kaibara compelled him to make sure that his son would survive him, even if was only by a few moments.

The gunfire increased, and Kaibara closed his eyes and put his arms over Ryo's head. He was close to passing out when he suddenly realized that he recognized the presence of one of the people who was approaching them.

"Norester!" he shouted. "Over here."

"Kaibara? Hold on, I'm coming."

Seconds later, Norester emerged out of the jungle and he dropped down onto his knees next to them.

"My God," Norester whispered as he took in sight in front of him. "Kaibara…Ryo…" Kaibara rolled off of Ryo and fell onto his back. He then made sure to look Norester in the eye.

"Promise me," Kaibara said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Promise me that you'll take care of Ryo."

"Kaibara, what are you talking about?" Norester replied. "Dopazo and Escota have got what few soldiers are left on the run. We'll get you and Ryo to the Professor and he'll fix the both of you right up. Besides, you can't leave Ryo behind. He needs you." Kaibara closed his eyes and took several shuddering breaths before reopening them and reaching up to grab the collar of Norester's jacket.

"Norester, I'm asking you, as my partner and my friend," he said. "Promise me that you'll take care of my son." Norester swallowed hard as he put a hand on Kaibara's forearm.

"I promise," he murmured, closing his eyes. "I swear, for the rest of my life, I will make sure to watch over him. He will never be alone."

Kaibara nodded, his eyes full of gratitude, as he let go of Norester's collar and let his hand fall to the ground. He then turned his head and reached over to place his hand over one of Ryo's.

"_Farewell, musuko," _he said as he rubbed his thumb against Ryo's fingers. "_Be strong."_

Kaibara felt another surge of pain rush through him and suddenly felt cold as his vision dimmed and he drifted into unconsciousness. The last sounds he heard were fading gunfire and Norester's voice.

"Dopazo! Escota! Get the jeep over here now!"

* * *

Many hours later, Ryo moaned and blinked his eyes open. At first, all he could see was white, and he wondered if he was dreaming…or if he was dead.

'_Where…where am I?'_

Ryo reached up and put a hand to his head and realized that it was bandaged. He then looked at his hand and saw that his wrist had also been bandaged, and he inspected his other wrist to find that the same was true for it as well. Ryo turned his head and it was then that he was aware that he was lying in bed with a blanket draped over him. He carefully sat up and ran a hand along his chest and felt more bandages covering it. He rubbed his eyes and noted that, while his injuries still hurt, the pain was not nearly as bad as it was before. Ryo studied his surroundings for another minute before he was able to figure out that he was in the Professor's hut and that it was probably him who had treated him.

'_How did I get here?' _he asked himself. '_Wait…oyaji…oyaji was there. He rescued me from Maceno…but…but I….'_

Ryo's eyes widened as memories of his time as Maceno's captive, and of his and Kaibara's attempt to escape flooded his brain. He shivered violently, wrapping his arms around himself. Soon, however, one memory in particular took precedence in his mind.

'_There was an explosion…oyaji was hurt…'_

'_Where is he? Is he all right? Is he….?'_

"Professor, how is Kaibara…really?"

Ryo turned his head toward the sound of Norester's voice. A pair of sheets hanging next to his bed made it so that he couldn't see Norester or the Professor, but he could plainly hear the Professor sigh in response to Norester's question.

"He's unconscious," the Professor replied. "That wound in his side was shallow, but it severed an artery. If you had gotten him here even minutes later, he would have died from blood loss."

The Professor sighed again, and Ryo could hear him start to pace back and forth.

"Fortunately, I was able to get him into surgery in time to stop the bleeding," he continued. "And fortunately, almost all of his other injuries were minor."

"Professor…what about his leg?" Norester asked, his tone somber.

"I'm sorry, no," the Professor answered. "I had to remove it. There was no way I could save it and keep him alive. As it is, there is still a chance that he won't survive the shock his body endured. But I can almost guarantee that he wouldn't have made it at all if I hadn't amputated that leg."

"I understand," Norester said quietly. "I'm sure you did everything you could. I just…."

"Norester, listen, we both know how strong Kaibara is," the Professor said. "If anyone could make it through this, it's him."

"I know. I know that," Norester replied. "But what then? How is he going to be able to live as a mercenary and a soldier without one of his legs? Even if he were to leave this kind of work behind, he still has many enemies who want him dead and who wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of his handicap."

"What happens from here is entirely up to Kaibara," the Professor replied. "The injury took place below the knee, so with the right prosthetic and plenty of therapy and training, he could regain much of his mobility. Again, how much of that mobility he regains will depend upon him."

Norester took a deep breath and started talking again, but by this point, Ryo couldn't hear him, his mind completely focused on what he had just heard.

'_It's just like Maceno said. Oyaji got hurt because he tried to battle against all of those soldiers by himself. If he hadn't come to get me, he would have been safe, he wouldn't have…he wouldn't….'_

Ryo fell back against the bed, his shivering increasing as his eyes watered up. He pulled the blanket up over his head and curled up as tightly as he could.

'_It's all my fault. Because of me, oyaji could die…and even if he lives, he still won't have his leg. So someone could still kill him.'_

'_Because of me….'_

Suddenly, Ryo heard the sound of footsteps approaching him, and he flinched and tried to hide further under the blanket. Seconds later, though, the blanket was removed, and Ryo looked up to see the Professor and Norester standing over him.

"Ryo-chan, it's good to see you awake," the Professor beamed at him.

"Yeah, we were both worried about you, kid," Norester grinned. "How are you feeling?"

Ryo said nothing and turned his gaze toward the bed, pointedly refusing to look either of them in the eye. Norester and the Professor gave each other a concerned look and then turned their focus back onto Ryo.

"I know, you're worried about your father, aren't you?" Norester asked, putting a hand on Ryo's shoulder. "But it's ok. We got him here in time, and the Professor was able to save him."

"Yes," the Professor nodded. "Kaibara is very strong and robust, Ryo. I am sure that he will be fine. Right now, he is resting, but I see no harm in you visiting him for a few moments. Would you like to do that?"

Ryo slowly shook his head, and both Norester and the Professor were shocked at his response. There was an awkward moment of silence until the Professor cleared his throat.

"Norester, perhaps you could get Ryo-chan here, something to eat while I examine him?" he said.

"Of course," Norester nodded. He then reached over and patted Ryo's shoulder. "Hey, everything's going to be just fine, kid. You'll see."

Norester left the hut and the Professor retrieved some of his instruments from a nearby table before returning to the bed. He started to press a stethoscope to Ryo's chest, but Ryo flinched and backed away.

"_Relax," _the Professor said. "_You know that I won't hurt you."_

Ryo nodded and sat still while the Professor checked all of his vitals. A few minutes later, the Professor silently nodded and put his things away. He then poured Ryo a glass of water and held it out to him.

"_Here, you should drink this," _he said. "_You're dehydrated and you're running a slight fever."_

Ryo started to reach for the glass, but then hesitated. The Professor raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what was wrong when Ryo suddenly snatched the glass from him and drank the water down as fast as he could. Once the glass was empty, Ryo sat it on the bed and stared at it until the Professor took it away.

"_Ryo-chan, listen to me," _the Professor said. "_There is no need for you to be afraid. Maceno cannot hurt you anymore. And your father, he will recover. I am certain of it. Now, you don't have to tell me or Norester anything about what happened to you if you don't want to. But I do ask that you say something, anything, to us so that we know that you are all right."_

Ryo bowed his head and turned away from the Professor, his expression desolate. The Professor let out a long sigh and shook his head. He was about to say more when Norester walked into the hut carrying a plate of food.

"Hey, you're in luck," Norester said. "I was able to make you one of your favorite dishes." He then handed the plate to Ryo along with a fork and knife. Ryo stared at the plate in his lap, his hands fidgeting with the cutlery.

"Go on, go ahead and eat," Norester said. "It's probably been about three days since you've had anything, and I'm sure you're starving."

Ryo silently nodded and began to slowly nibble at his food. He had only eaten about a third of what was on his plate, however, when he suddenly became very pale and held a hand to his mouth. Anticipating what could happen next; the Professor grabbed an empty basin and placed it on Ryo's lap while yanking away the plate. Seconds later, Ryo vomited everything he had just eaten and drank, and ended up gagging for a full minute even after he had nothing left to expel. Once he was done, the Professor took the basin away, and gently nudged Ryo to lie down.

"It's all right," he said. "Go ahead and get some rest for now. We'll try again later."

Ryo let his head flop down onto the pillow and turned to face the wall. The Professor pulled the blanket back over him, and then nodded at Norester to follow him outside.

"Professor, what's wrong with him?" Norester asked. "Is he sick?"

"Yes, in a manner of speaking," the Professor frowned.

"What do you mean?" Norester replied. "Are you sure he's going to be all right?"

"Ryo's injuries were probably very painful to receive, but they are not serious, no," the Professor said. "He has a mild concussion and a fever along with all the bruises and welts. The worst thing was that cut on his chest. From what I could tell, someone probably used a heated blade on him. Fortunately, it wasn't infected, but it's going to leave a nasty scar."

"My God," Norester gasped. "Maceno tortured him."

"Yes, in more ways than one, I suspect," the Professor said. "I noted some small bruises on Ryo's neck that look like they came from a hypodermic needle. That along with Ryo's sluggishness and the nausea he has makes me think that he was drugged more than once."

"You think Maceno did that so that Ryo wouldn't be able to fight back or get away?" Norester asked.

"Perhaps," the Professor said. "But it also looks as if a mixture of drugs was used on him, so I suspect that keeping Ryo quiet was not the sole purpose for them. I have heard from some of the guerrillas in other troops that Maceno is fond of playing mind games with his prisoners, using manipulation and deception to break their spirits."

"And you think the same was done with Ryo," Norester replied.

"It explains most of his behavior," the Professor said.

"Most?" Norester said, raising an eyebrow.

"Even though Maceno is no longer able to get to him, Ryo is still being tortured," the Professor said. "But this time, he is doing it to himself."

"Himself? But why?" Norester asked.

"I think you know why," the Professor said with a sad smile.

"You mean because of what happened to Kaibara," Norester said. "You think he feels guilty about it? But there's no reason for him to. It was Maceno's fault. He was the one who sent those soldiers to kill Kaibara, and they were the ones who used that grenade on him."

"Yes, but the reason Kaibara was there in the first place was because he was trying to save Ryo," the Professor said. "A fact that I am sure Ryo is all too aware of." He then leaned against the wall of the hut and shook his head again.

"Norester, you know that Ryo adores his father," he continued. "Now consider, he just went through an extremely traumatic experience as Maceno's prisoner, and the person who saved him from that horrific situation was severely injured in the process. And that same person just happens to be his father, who means the world to him."

The Professor paused and let his words sink in for several moments before speaking again.

"So you see, in a sense, Ryo is sick," the Professor said. "But it's not just because of his physical injuries. If anything, they are trivial compared to the ones in his mind and heart."

"Makes sense," Norester said. "So what can we do?"

"The best things we can do for him at this point are to try to keep him comfortable and to help him feel secure while he heals," the Professor said. "I think the drugs and his concussion are making it difficult for him to eat, but I will try feeding him some broth later. That should be easier on his stomach. I will also be making sure to check on him periodically throughout the day."

"What do you want me to do?" Norester asked.

"I honestly think that it wouldn't be good idea to leave Ryo alone for long periods of time right now," the Professor said. "You should keep him company as much as possible and make sure he gets plenty of rest. In fact, it might be better for you to take him back to his own hut to rest. Spending time in familiar surroundings will probably be good for him."

"Why not leave him here with you so you can monitor him?" Norester replied.

"Unfortunately, I will need to devote most of my time to tending to Kaibara," the Professor said. "He may be strong, but he is still in critical condition. Besides, after Kaibara, you are probably the person he is the closest to, and right now, he needs someone he can trust to take care of him."

"I understand," Norester said. "I'll do what I can."

* * *

Later that night, Norester sat next to Ryo's cot and watched him slumber fitfully. He had moved Ryo back to Kaibara's hut after talking with the Professor, and Ryo had promptly fallen back asleep after getting into bed. A couple hours later, the Professor had stopped by to give Ryo some broth to eat, but was only able to get him to take a few sips of it before Ryo refused to eat any more. The Professor then checked him over again before leaving him alone with Norester.

Norester tried talking to Ryo, telling him jokes and stories, and had even offered to play cards with him as they had done in the past, but Ryo did not respond to anything he said or did and continued to lie still in bed. When he wasn't sleeping, he stared at the walls or out the window with a vacant look on his face.

It was that look that Norester hated the most. Ever since he had known him, Norester had considered Ryo to be one of the most animated people he had ever met and had rarely known him to be reserved when expressing his feelings. Granted, there were times when Norester wondered if Ryo was truly happy while he was smiling and laughing, but the one thing that Ryo could not be called was subdued.

He sighed and stretched his legs out in front of him. It was painful to see Ryo become a shadow of himself, to see eyes that were usually full of life and mirth be empty and listless, and to watch him completely withdraw from the world. He wished that he find some words to make Ryo feel better or at the very least that would get him talking again, but he soon found that he was at a loss.

Norester yawned and stretched again. He was tired, but his mind was too troubled to truly rest. He thought about his wife and daughter and found that he missed them more than usual at that moment.

"How is he?"

Norester nearly fell out of his chair, startled, before getting up and turning around to see the Professor walk into the hut.

"Geez, don't do that," Norester said, putting his hand on the back of his head. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Oh ho, and aren't you supposed to be able to sense danger at all times?" the Professor chuckled.

"Danger I can sense just fine," Norester said. "Sneaky old men, not so much. And to answer your question, he's about the same. Sadly."

"I was afraid of that," the Professor frowned. "Perhaps I should come back later when he is awake."

Norester was about to reply when a groan from the bed grabbed his attention. Both he and the Professor watched as Ryo began to thrash about and sob while his eyes were still closed. His cries quickly increased in intensity and the Professor started to walk over to the bed to wake Ryo up from his nightmare, but Norester held out a hand to stop him.

"No, he'll fight you if you touch him," he said. "Kaibara trained Ryo to react that way if anyone besides him tried to go near Ryo while he's asleep."

"An unfortunate, but understandable reflex given his environment," the Professor said. "But he needs to wake up. If he keeps thrashing about that way, he might hurt himself." Norester nodded and looked down at the floor. He hated to resort to such tactics, but at the moment, he could not see any other solution.

"There is one sure way to wake him up," Norester said.

"And that is?"

"Something else Kaibara made sure to instill in him," Norester replied. He then pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the bed.

"Norester? What are you…?"

Norester ignored him and started to pull the hammer back on his gun. As soon as he did this, Ryo's eyes flew open, and he rolled onto the floor and underneath the bed. Norester shoved his gun back into its holster and knelt down next to him.

"I'm sorry, Ryo, it was just me," he said. "You were having a nightmare, and we were just trying to wake you up."

Ryo stared at him with a furtive look in his eyes for a full minute before he finally crawled out from under the bed and sat back down onto it.

"Kaibara is…very thorough, isn't he?" the Professor said, astonishment in his tone.

"You have no idea," Norester grimaced. "Trust me, there are no limits when it comes to the number of precautions Kaibara will consider in order to protect Ryo." The Professor nodded and walked over to the bed.

"_I should apologize too," _he told Ryo. "_I wanted to check on you and asked Norester to wake you. I am sorry."_

Ryo shook his head and looked down at his feet. The Professor reached over and patted his arm a couple times.

"Go ahead and take a break, Norester," he said. "I'll stay with Ryo for a little while."

"Ok," Norester said with a shrug. He walked out of the hut and pulled out a cigarette. After lighting it, he began to aimlessly wander around the village in an attempt to clear his mind. It wasn't long, however, before he realized the path he had ended up taking, and he let out a short, humorless laugh. After another minute of walking, he was standing in front of the Professor's hut, and Norester tossed away his cigarette before walking inside. He quietly walked over to the back of the hut and pulled back the curtain there to find Kaibara lying in bed, unconscious.

"Hey, it's me," Norester whispered to him "As I'm sure you've already figured out by now."

Norester picked up a nearby stool and put it next to the bed so he could sit with him. As he sat down, he noted how pale Kaibara was and how he looked frailer than Norester had ever seen him, and he wondered how the Professor could be so confident of Kaibara's recovery.

"But then again, this is you we are talking about here," Norester said aloud. "You're probably the toughest guy I've ever met. There's no way you'd let something like this…."

Norester fell silent and tried to push that unpleasant thought from his mind. Instead he pondered the latest report he had gotten from Dopazo. Out of over a hundred men, there had been less than twenty survivors who had fled from Hervas' base, including General Hervas himself and Captain Maceno. Even more significant was the fact that Norester knew that he, Dopazo and Escota had only taken out about ten or twelve soldiers themselves.

"Damn, you really went wild there, didn't you?" Norester chuckled. "Too bad you weren't able to get Maceno. But hey, I wouldn't mind taking him out myself…that is, if you don't get to him first."

Norester then shook his head as the reality of that report sunk in. He knew that Kaibara was one of the most skilled professionals he had ever met, and had killed many people as a part of his work, as had he. Still, Norester couldn't imagine killing over eighty people in less than a day, and he began to wonder if the killing instinct inside Kaibara was even stronger than he had previously thought.

'_To do something like that, to kill so many people so efficiently and relentlessly,' _he thought to himself. '_Just how often does Kaibara let his humanity slip away in order to do this kind of work?'_

Norester frowned, disturbed at the idea, but then immediately put it aside. Any worries that Kaibara could be becoming less than human were instantly erased when Norester considered the deep affection Kaibara had for his son. He then thought about how Kaibara had made him promise to take care of Ryo, and he was struck with an even stronger sense of melancholy. He knew that it had not simply been a request made out of a need to ensure Ryo's safety. It was perhaps the single most direct and overt expression of trust and warm regard that Kaibara had ever shown for him, and had clearly demonstrated just how meaningful their friendship was to him. It was then that he came to realize just how worried he was about both Ryo and Kaibara.

Norester leaned closer to Kaibara, his concern etched into his features.

"Kaibara, you need to wake up," he said quietly. "The Professor has to fuss over you so much, and he's wearing himself out. And I need my partner back. I mean, you said it yourself; no one else around here would be able to tolerate me for an entire mission. Galvez would probably put me with Dopazo, and I'd probably drive him insane in a week, if that."

Norester laughed a little at his own joke, but then frowned again and put a hand on Kaibara's shoulder.

"But more than any of that, Ryo needs you," he continued. "I know you asked me to take care of him, and I swear I will keep doing whatever I can, but, honestly, I don't know how to help him through this. The poor kid is carrying around so much pain and guilt, and it's tearing him up inside."

Norester squeezed Kaibara's shoulder and took a deep breath.

"I'm asking you, don't make Ryo an orphan again," he added. "It was bad enough that he lost his birth parents the way he did. To go through what he did with Maceno and then lose you, his father, his _oyaji_ on top of all that…it would devastate him. So, I'm asking you hold on and get better. For your sake and for his."

Unable to say anything else, Norester leaned back against the wall and fell silent. He wanted to follow the Professor's example and stay positive.

But he could not shake the feeling that there were two lives hanging in the balance right now…and that the chances of both of them making it were growing slimmer with each hour.


	15. The Sacrifice-part five

Author's Note: Next chapter. Looks like things got a little longer than I expected, so there will end up being a sixth part to this section after all. :) But I will say that after this section is over, things will be a little more light-hearted again for the next section. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

Chapter Fifteen—The Sacrifice—part five

Two days passed with only minor changes. Kaibara remained unconscious, but the Professor continued to be pleased with the steady albeit slow improvements in his condition.

"His vital signs are growing stronger," the Professor told Norester. "And his body has weathered the shock of his massive blood loss and the loss of his leg very well. As for the leg itself, the wound is healing without any major complications. This will make it much easier for him when it's time to give him a prosthetic limb."

"You think he will wake up soon?" Norester asked.

"Hard to say," the Professor said. "As I said, his body is doing a good job fighting off any infections and his strength is returning, but it's impossible to know when he will come around. I imagine it will simply happen when he is ready, and that could be at any time."

* * *

Norester continued to visit Kaibara in-between vigils with Ryo and time spent keeping Galvez updated on Kaibara's condition.

"Even though his actions and yours were flagrant acts of insubordination, I must admit that I, and many other factions of the resistance, owe the both of you a great debt," Galvez told Norester. "Taking out that base and almost all of its men has been a major blow to the military's operations in this area of the country. Also, there is word that Hervas has been stripped of his command and he, along with most of the survivors, have defected to neighboring countries."

"What about Captain Maceno?" Norester had asked.

"It seems he has disappeared," Galvez said. "Officially, he was expelled from the military, but there has been no word of his movements since then."

'_Probably trying to escape Kaibara's wrath,' _Norester had thought to himself. '_Can't say that I blame him. There are few things as dangerous as Shin Kaibara when he is truly angry.'_

"Still, I wonder," Galvez mused aloud. "I can't help but think that perhaps Kaibara has become soft."

"Soft? Sir, you can't be serious," Norester replied, incredulous. "After he just killed over eighty people?"

"That was very impressive yes," Galvez nodded. "But it is patently obvious now that he has become very emotionally attached to Saeba, even though I know that you and he go to great lengths to try and conceal it. Attachments like that can only get in the way."

"Oh ho, so you think that Shin Kaibara is less dangerous now that he has a child?"

Both Norester and Galvez jumped slightly at the sound of the Professor's voice as he walked into the hut. Galvez leaned back in his chair, a frown on his face.

"As a matter of fact, I do," he said. "A man like him, doting on a child? It will inevitably disrupt his focus and weaken his resolve. Also, if Kaibara hadn't been so preoccupied with taking care of Saeba, he probably would not have lost his leg. Would you not agree?"

"Actually, I would not," the Professor said as he adjusted his glasses. "Tell me General, do you honestly think any of your other men could have carried out an offense strike like that? In fact, if I had said two weeks ago that Kaibara could do it alone, would you have believed me?"

"Well, no," Galvez said. "But…."

"How about you, Norester?" the Professor said. "You know him better than anyone. Would you have thought that he could do it?"

"To be honest, no," Norester replied.

"And I believe if you had asked Kaibara himself before now if he could do something like this, he would have expressed doubts of his own," the Professor nodded. "You see, General, on that day, Kaibara was not acting as a soldier, a mercenary, or a professional. He was acting as a father with the single-minded purpose of rescuing his son, and that purpose gave him the needed inspiration, fortitude and persistence to make the impossible possible." The Professor then smiled and walked back toward the entrance.

"No, giving Shin Kaibara a child has not made him less dangerous," he added. "If anything, he far _more_ dangerous now that he someone to protect, to fight for and to live for. And I think the lesson to be learned here is quite clear: if you value your life, do not put yourself between Kaibara and his son."

The Professor had then left Galvez's hut without another word, leaving both Norester and Galvez to process his statements.

* * *

Despite his reservations about the things the Professor had said, Galvez continued to be grateful for what Kaibara had done and had given both Norester and the Professor carte blanche in regards to both Kaibara's and Ryo's recovery complete with offers for any of them to take as much time away from the resistance as they needed.

The one thing that had not changed for the better during this time was Ryo. For the past two days, he continued to stay in bed most of the time and still would not speak a word. He barely ate and slept only when he was too exhausted to keep his eyes open. Even then, his slumber would frequently be interrupted by nightmares that would leave him screaming and choking back tears by the time he woke up.

After having some breakfast, and checking in with both Galvez and the Professor, Norester went to Kaibara's hut to spend most of the day with Ryo. As he walked in, he saw that Ryo was sitting on the bed, staring silently out the window again. He also noted how drawn and ashen Ryo's face was now, the only color being the dark circles under his eyes and a slight flush on his cheeks from the mild fever that continued to persist.

Norester let out a long sigh as he approached Ryo. He knew that the Professor wanted Ryo to rest as much as possible, but now Norester was convinced that staying in bed all the time was part of the problem. In his mind, Ryo needed to get up and do something in order to move past his gloom, and Norester thought of one thing that would be a good first step.

"Hey Ryo," Norester said, putting a hand on Ryo's shoulder. "How about we go for a walk? We could go over to the Professor's and you could visit Kaibara. The Professor says that he is doing a lot better now, and that he could wake up at any time. Maybe even while you're visiting him. So what do you say?"

Ryo looked over at him for a moment before quietly shaking his head and turning his gaze back to the window while Norester clenched his hands in frustration. Every time that either he or the Professor asked Ryo if he wanted to see his father, he firmly refused to go. The Professor had mentioned to Norester that Ryo was probably acting out of guilt and despair rather than exhibiting a lack of concern, but it was getting harder for Norester to accept this with each refusal.

"All right, well then how about we at least go get you something to eat?" Norester said, struggling to hide his frustration. "I still say some fresh air would do you some good, and I can introduce you to my famous scrambled eggs recipe. How about it?"

Ryo shook his head again without even looking at Norester this time, and Norester found that he had finally had enough. He grabbed Ryo by the shoulders and turned him to face him.

"Damn it, Ryo you can't just stay in bed forever," he snapped at him. "You need to get up and do something. You need to eat a real meal for a change. And you need to stop acting like a zombie and talk to us. The Professor and I have enough to worry about with your father and his recovery without having to worry about you getting worse. And speaking of which, you need to stop being selfish and go visit him. Do you think he'd be doing this if it were you lying there in the Professor's hut? You know that he'd be at your side and wouldn't leave you alone for one minute if he could. So why won't you even take a moment to let him know that you're thinking about him?"

Ryo gaped at him mute and shaking for a couple of minutes before looking back down at the floor. Norester put his hand on Ryo's arm and started to guide him out of bed, but Ryo yanked himself away. Norester responded by slapping Ryo across the face, causing Ryo to look up at him with watery eyes and to place his hand on his cheek where he had slapped him.

"You spoiled brat," Norester said. "Is this what you think Kaibara wants? For you to sit in this hut and wither away? Damn it, he wants you to live, don't you understand that? Everything he did, going to that base, risking his life to free you, protecting you until the last moment from Maceno's men…all of it was to save your life, a life that means more to him than anything. And yet here you are, letting that life, that life that Kaibara fought so hard and so desperately for, fade away because you can't face this fact."

Ryo hiccupped and squeezed his eyes shut as his breaths hitched and he began to sniffle. Norester sighed and sat down in the chair next to the bed. He then put his hand on Ryo's forearm.

"Listen kid, I know that you're in a world of pain right now," he said softly. "But you can't keep going on this way. I know your father well enough to know that he wouldn't want you to blame yourself for what happened to him."

Norester reached up to pat Ryo's shoulder a couple of times before moving his chair closer to him.

"Here's something else you need to understand, Ryo," he continued. "The fact is, no sacrifice is too great for a father to make for his child. I can say this because I'm a father too, so while I might not understand a lot of what goes on in Kaibara's head, I can understand his motivation, his need to do whatever it takes to keep you safe and to take care of you, completely. What I'm asking is that you do not let his sacrifices be in vain. I'm asking you to honor him and his wishes by living and not just existing."

Ryo sniffed hard while opening his mouth, and for a brief moment, Norester thought that he was going to say something. To his dismay, however, Ryo ended up flinging himself onto the bed and burying his face into his pillow. Norester let out another sigh and stood up to pull the blanket up to Ryo's shoulders.

"All right, kid, all right," he said as he sat back down. "You go ahead and rest for a while and think about what I've said. I'll stay here with you until the Professor comes to check on you in a few hours."

Ryo did not reply, and Norester felt his heart sink a little more. He then leaned back against the wall and stared at the ceiling. He thought again about the promise he had made to Kaibara and he was beginning to wonder if he would ever be able to truly fulfill it.

* * *

_Ryo walked into the Professor's hut, his pace slow and hesitant. _

"_I'm so sorry, Ryo-chan, it happened last night while I was asleep," the Professor said, shaking his head. "There was simply nothing more I could do."_

"_I'm sure he wanted to come back to you, kid," Norester said, his expression solemn. "I'm sure he fought to stay alive until the very end. But it looks like his injuries were just too severe after all. I'm sorry."_

_Ryo could barely hear them as he approached the bed where his father lay, still and lifeless. For a moment, he stood and stared down at Kaibara's face and thought about how he looked peaceful, as if he were asleep. He then dropped down to his knees and laid his head down on Kaibara's chest. Ryo noted how there was no heartbeat, no breathing and he started to cry._

"_Oyaji, I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I should have listened to you. You told me not to wander off during battle, you told me to try harder in our lessons….but I didn't listen. That's why Maceno was able to get me…and that's why you…why you…."_

_Ryo's tears increased as he clung to his father. He wanted more than anything to hear Kaibara's voice or see him open his eyes, but he knew that that would never happen. He had learned at a very young age that death was final and irreversible, and now he was faced with the reality that he had lost his family yet again._

"_You see, you see now. This is your fault."_

_Ryo gasped and looked up to see Maceno standing beside him._

"_Kaibara was a fool," Maceno continued. "He let himself care too much about a stray dog like you, and look what happened. And you, you made it happen by being such a weak, stupid child."_

"_I…I didn't mean to...I…."_

"_Pathetic," Maceno interrupted. "You still think that Kaibara was acting out of some kind of paternal duty? He was simply acting as a good soldier would, neutralizing the enemy and assisting his comrades. I'm sure now though, he realizes what an idiot he was and wishes that he had not thrown his life away for a whelp like you."_

_Ryo got up and started to run, but Maceno grabbed him and stabbed his neck with another needle before throwing him down to the ground and holding him there._

"_No! Norester! Professor!" Ryo yelled._

"_Scream all you want, Saeba, they won't be coming for you," Maceno laughed. "They won't make the same mistake Kaibara did. And this time, this time I won't go so easy on you. I'll make sure you suffer for a long, long time."_

_Maceno laughed again, and Ryo felt his limbs become heavy and useless. Maceno then started to drag him away into the darkness. _

"_Please…please someone help me!" Ryo screamed. _

"_Oyaji!"_

* * *

Ryo screamed as he bolted upright in bed, sweat pouring down his face, his heart racing. It took him almost a full minute to realize that he was still in his hut and wasn't able to stop panting until he was able to fully grasp this idea. He looked around to see that he was alone and figured that Norester was off running some errand and would be back soon.

Ryo laid back down and pulled the blanket over his head. Every time he closed his eyes, he kept seeing Maceno's face and hearing his voice. During those brief times when he could sleep, he continued to have variations of the same nightmare over and over again: Kaibara would be dead and Maceno would be there to torture him yet again.

He gulped and shivered underneath the blanket, unable to stay warm. His waking hours weren't much better due to his mind endlessly replaying the moment when his father was blown to the ground by a grenade. Ryo then thought about how Norester had encouraged him to take a moment to let Kaibara know that he was thinking about him and he considered the bitter irony that, in actuality, his father and what had happened to him was just about the only thing he could think about.

Ryo grabbed his pillow and wrapped his arms around it. He had been relieved to hear from both Norester and the Professor that Kaibara was getting better and that he would probably survive, but he could not get the fact that his father had lost a leg while rescuing him out of his mind.

'_It like Norester said: how is oyaji going to be able to live and work without his leg? Even if they give him a fake one, he'll never be the same. He'll never get his real leg back.'_

'_He will never forgive me.'_

Ryo gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists. He knew that that was a selfish concern in the face of everything that Kaibara was going through and would have to go through in the future, but he could not stop himself from thinking about it.

'_He probably wishes I had never shown up at the village all those years ago. He probably doesn't want anything to do with me now.'_

'_He probably hates me now…and why shouldn't he? It's my fault that this happened.'_

Ryo gripped his pillow even tighter as his body continued to tremble. He thought about the things that Norester had said to him earlier that day, but even though he wanted to believe in Norester's words and even though he felt bad about how selfish he was being, Ryo simply could not free himself from the sorrow and guilt that were consuming him.

'_Besides, what Norester said…it's not true. Not for me. No matter what I might want to think, I'm not oyaji's son, not really. He was just being nice and was pretending to be my father because I don't have one of my own anymore. He took care of me because I was all alone and didn't have anyone else. He's a good person, not like what Maceno said.'_

Ryo swallowed hard and moved his pillow back near his head before pressing his face into it. He was positive that that kindness would end as soon as Kaibara woke up and realized what it had cost to rescue him.

'_It's better if I stay away from him,'_ he told himself. '_If stay away, he won't have to suffer any more because of me.'_

As much as he believed this, however, deep down Ryo knew that there was another reason why he did not want to face Kaibara: because he was afraid of the moment that was sure to come when Kaibara disowned him as his son.

Ryo did not want to go back to sleep, but weariness had set in again and his eyelids were growing heavy. He tried to console himself with the vague plans he had recently begun to formulate to eventually sneak out of the village and find somewhere else to live so he could stop being a burden to Norester, the Professor or Kaibara, and eventually he was able to drift off into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

"Ryo? Ryo are you awake?"

Ryo shuddered and opened his eyes to see Norester leaning over him. He then blinked his eyes several times and was startled as he realized that it daytime again already. He gradually sat up and rubbed his eyes with his fist.

"Come on, I need to take you to the Professor's," Norester said, motioning at him to get up. "He needs to check you over to make sure that you're still healing like you should."

Ryo turned his head away and frowned, determined not to move from where he was.

"Ryo, get up and start moving or I will pick you up and carry you," Norester growled. "And don't think for one moment that I can't or won't do it. You still have a ways to go before you'll be able to overpower me."

Ryo let his shoulders slump down before finally nodding his head and getting out of bed. Norester waited while Ryo put on an undershirt and a pair of pants over his boxers and slipped a pair of sandals onto his feet before following him out the door. Ryo then slowly trudged toward the Professor's hut with Norester close behind. When they arrived, Ryo hesitated at the doorway, but a firm nudge from Norester was enough to encourage him to go in. As they walked inside, the Professor came to greet them.

"Hello Ryo-chan," he beamed at him. "It's good to see you up and about. Now, I need you to step over here."

Ryo looked down at the floor as the Professor put an arm around his shoulders and guided him over to the side of the room. Ryo was so focused on trying to avoid any eye contact with the Professor or Norester and on his own thoughts; he didn't notice it when the Professor walked over to pull a curtain aside before moving to join Norester who was standing behind him.

"_Hello musuko."_

Ryo gasped, his eyes growing wide, as he looked up to see Shin Kaibara sitting up in bed, his eyes open and staring right at him.

"_Oyaji_."

* * *

The first thing Kaibara was aware of as he came to earlier that morning was amazement that he was not dead.

He moaned and blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the light and worked to focus in on his surroundings. He then put a hand to his face and ran it over his features.

'_Norester…he must have been able to get me to the Professor in time after all,' _he mused. '_Looks like I owe him one…not that he'll let me forget about it.'_

Kaibara smirked and then moaned again as he shifted about in bed, his body still weak and sore. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths as he tried to mentally assess his condition. He put a hand to his side and winced, the area near his stitches still tender.

'_Still, it feels superficial and is already far less painful than it was,' _he pondered. '_I should be fine in a few days.'_

'_Wait, my leg. I know that I injured it too…so why don't I feel anything there?'_

Kaibara opened his eyes and stared down toward the end of the bed and frowned. Something did not look right to him and he could not put his finger on what it was. He tried moving his right foot and then his left and it was then that he realized that there was no lump under the sheets where his left foot should be.

Disturbed by his growing suspicions, Kaibara carefully pulled himself into a sitting position and slowly moved the sheet away from his legs. His mouth fell open as he saw that his left foot and most of his leg below the knee were missing. He gingerly put a hand over his knee and ran it back and forth near the tip of what was left of his leg.

'_So…that's why I can't feel anything….'_

Kaibara collapsed back down onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. At the moment when it happened, he knew that his leg had been severely damaged, but he had not even entertained the possibility that he could lose it. As the shock of this revelation started to clear, Kaibara felt a surge of anger at Maceno and his men for wounding him this way and he clenched his hands into fists before pounding them into the mattress.

'_Maceno, you better not think that this means that you have escaped me,' _he raged inwardly. '_Because I will still find you and make you suffer for what you did to Ryo.'_

Kaibara shook with fury for a moment longer before thoughts of his son shifted his emotions from rage to worry.

'_Ryo…'_

Kaibara struggled to sit up again and had just gotten upright when the Professor pulled back the curtain separating Kaibara's bed from the rest of the room.

"_Kaibara, I am very pleased to see you awake," _the Professor grinned at him. "_Honestly, you had me worried for a while there."_

"_Professor, where is Ryo?" _Kaibara asked. "_Is he all right?"_

"_Do not worry," _the Professor assured him. "_Ryo-chan is resting in your quarters right now. You can see him later."_

"_Professor, you did not respond to both of my questions," _Kaibara said, narrowing his eyes at him. "_I asked you if Ryo was all right and I want an answer."_ The Professor sighed deeply and was about to reply when Norester walked into the hut.

"Hey, you're awake," Norester grinned as he walked over to the bed. "I don't mind telling you that you had me scared for a while there. I thought I was going to have to find a new partner."

Kaibara looked over at Norester and sighed. He still felt anxious over the way the Professor seemed to be dodging his questions, but he couldn't deny the warmth he felt in response to Norester's cheer over seeing him regain consciousness.

"Did you actually think that I would let a pompous fool like Maceno or one of his lackeys take me out?" Kaibara smirked at him. "You underestimate me."

"Yeah, I should have known better, shouldn't I?" Norester chuckled. "Especially after the way you completely decimated that base. I had no idea you had something like that in you."

"And as for finding a new partner, I'm afraid that it's hopeless," Kaibara continued. "Because the fact remains that I am probably still the only person who can handle your idiosyncrasies and make sure that you stay focused while on missions. Galvez would never punish any of his top men by pairing them with you."

"I suppose that means that I'm still stuck with you," Norester smiled ruefully. "But that works because I wouldn't want it any other way."

Those last words were spoken in a soft, solemn tone, and Kaibara smiled back while giving him a meaningful nod that communicated his agreement with that sentiment. Kaibara then frowned and looked back down at his legs, and both the Professor's and Norester's faces fell.

"Kaibara, I hope you can understand that I sincerely wish that I could have saved your left leg," the Professor said. "But it simply was not possible, not if I wanted to keep you alive as well. And I hope you understand that this need not be the end of your life as you know it. I have a friend who owes me many favors who is currently practicing near the border of Mexico. He is an expert on amputee cases and prosthetics. I am certain that he could help you."

"And hey, you won't be alone during this," Norester added. "Galvez has already agreed to let us leave for a while. You can stay with me and my family while you get better. Sophie is a nurse, so she'll be able to help out if something comes up while you're working on learning to get around again. And of course, Ryo will come with us."

Kaibara kept staring down at the bed as the reality of his situation continued to sink in. Rationally, he agreed with the Professor that he could learn to adjust to the loss of his leg, but that thought was not enough to completely erase the apprehension and the lingering disbelief he still felt. He contemplated all of this for another minute before the last thing Norester said shifted his attention back onto something else that was concerning him.

"Professor, you still have not answered my question," Kaibara said without looking up. "Is Ryo all right?" The Professor and Norester shared a look and shook their heads.

"Physically, his condition is not serious," the Professor answered. "But as to whether or not he is truly all right…."

The Professor went on to explain how the last three days had been for Ryo: the way he barely ate or slept, the silence that had taken over, the nightmares and the absence of any real improvement in his condition. Kaibara listened to all of this with an unreadable expression on his face and had remained quiet for a couple of minutes after the Professor was done before replying.

"Bring him to me," he said.

"Easier said than done," Norester sighed. "Ryo hardly ever gets out of bed anymore, and he's made it a point to avoid coming here." Norester immediately flinched upon saying those words, worried about how Kaibara would take the fact that Ryo was staying away from him.

"Besides, you really should try to get some more rest," the Professor chimed in. "It's only been close to four days since you were almost fatally injured. It might be best to wait until later to…."

"Norester, Professor, I am in no mood to argue," Kaibara interrupted, his tone brusque. "Bring me my son."

"All right, I'll get him," Norester said. After he left, the Professor proceeded to examine him for any possible complications he might have missed. A few minutes later, they could hear Norester and Ryo approaching, and the Professor moved away from the bed to meet them. Kaibara could hear him talking to Ryo for a moment before he pulled back the curtain so Kaibara could see Ryo. Despite the distress that was clearly evident in Ryo's demeanor, Kaibara could not help but feel contentment upon seeing his child, who he had briefly thought he would never see again.

"_Hello musuko," _he said. The effect on Ryo was immediate as he shuddered violently and looked up with a mixture of awe, fear and confusion on his face.

"_Oyaji_," he whispered. Both Norester and the Professor started at the sound of Ryo's voice, the both of them shocked to hear him speak. Ryo then went back to staring at his feet, and Kaibara frowned at the sight.

"Leave us," Kaibara said as he looked over at the Professor and Norester. They both nodded and exited the hut while Ryo remained as still as a statue.

"_Ryo, come here and sit with me," _Kaibara said once they were gone. Ryo shook for a moment before complying with Kaibara's request. As he moved closer to the bed, Kaibara could not help but wonder what had happened to Ryo. The sickly, listless, and melancholic child in front of him bore little resemblance to the son he had spent years raising, a son who was usually alert, cheerful and full of life, and Kaibara found this disconcerting.

Ryo sat down, and Kaibara put a hand to his forehead. He was dismayed by both the fever he could detect and by the way Ryo seemed to flinch at his every move. Kaibara moved his hand and watched Ryo for a moment before speaking.

"_Ryo, the Professor tells me that you have not been taking care of yourself," _hesaid_. "He also says that you've been avoiding almost all contact with either him or Norester." _Ryo lowered his head and wrapped his arms around himself as he shivered. Kaibara reached over and carefully put his hands on Ryo's arms and rubbed them.

"_Talk to me, musuko," _he said. "_What is troubling you? Is it Maceno? Something he did to you? I promise that he will never have a chance to hurt you again. Or is it something he told you? I am certain that he told you many things, but you need to understand that most, if not all of them, were lies, lies designed to make you suffer and to take advantage of your weaknesses." _

Kaibara studied Ryo's face and noted that his eyes were fixated on something. He followed his line of vision and realized that Ryo was staring at his legs, his left leg in particular. Kaibara placed a hand on his left knee.

"_Is that what this is about?" _Kaibara asked him. "_Because of what happened to me? Is this why you are punishing yourself this way?"_

"_I'm sorry," _Ryo whispered_. _Kaibara put his hand back onto Ryo's arm and gently clasped it.

"_There's nothing for you to apologize for," _he said. _ "And do not worry about me. With the Professor's help, I am confident that I will learn to deal with this. Everything will be fine."_

"_No! No it won't!" _Ryo nearly yelled at him. Startled, Kaibara let go of his arms and watched as Ryo lifted his head, his eyes glittering with a rage that he had never seen before in his son's eyes.

"_That's what Norester and the Professor keep saying," _Ryo continued. "_To stop worrying and that everything will be just fine. And now you're saying it. But it's a lie."_

Ryo's breathing grew ragged as the words tumbled out of him, and Kaibara kept his expression neutral as he listened.

"_I can't stop," _Ryo said. "_I can't stop being scared. I can't stop thinking about what he did to me. Every time I go to sleep, I dream about it and every time I start to wake up, I'm scared that I'll be right back in that cage, and he'll be there to drug me or beat me…or do something even worse. I keep thinking that one day…one day he'll find me and he'll get me again."_

"_That will never happen," _Kaibara insisted, grabbing Ryo's shoulders. "_Do you hear me, Ryo? I promise that he will never touch you again. I will kill him first."_

"_You can't promise that," _Ryo shot back as he yanked himself away. "_It's because I'm such a stupid little kid that he was able to get me in the first place. I mean, you said it too: that I'm a fool who refuses to learn anything. If it's not Maceno, it will be someone else. Someone else who will get me because I can't stop them, because I'm too weak and helpless to stop them."_

"_There will be other enemies, yes," _Kaibara countered. "_But you will not always be defenseless. You will learn to defeat them, and until you do, I will protect you."_

"_No, no you won't," _Ryo replied, his voice raising. "_You can't now because of your leg…the one you lost because of me, because you rescued me. If you keep trying to protect me, you'll keep getting hurt. But you won't because you…because you…."_

"_Because why? Why won't I protect you?" _

"_Because you hate me," _Ryo said, hysteria bleeding into his voice. "_It's my fault that you lost your leg. It's my fault that you had to risk your life like that. It's because of me…So now you hate me, right? How could you not?"_

Tears slid out of Ryo's eyes and his body shook even more violently.

"_Why? Why did you do that? Why did you come get me?" _he cried. "_Why didn't you let Maceno kill me? I'm not even your child. I'm just a stray dog, a nothing who was supposed to die in a plane crash. Why do you keep doing these things for me?" _

Unable to say another word, Ryo collapsed onto the bed, buried his face into the sheets and sobbed. Kaibara sat still for several minutes, stunned at Ryo's outburst. He pondered how he had had no idea that Ryo was in this much pain and that he had not fully grasped the true extent of how much Maceno had poisoned his son's mind and heart until just now. For a moment, he felt lost as to what he could possibly do to help Ryo heal from this.

As he watched Ryo weep, however, Kaibara felt his own heart ache in response, and soon he knew that there was only one thing he could do at this point. He reached down and gently pulled Ryo back up into a sitting position and then tilted his head so that he would look him in the eye.

"_Ryo, do not be ashamed of being afraid," _he said. "_The fact is, during this whole ordeal, I was also scared."_

"_You?" _Ryo gasped, his voice clogged with tears.

"_Yes," _Kaibara said. "_I also had many nightmares: nightmares about what Maceno could be doing to you, nightmares that I wouldn't be able to find you, nightmares where I did not find you in time. They plagued my dreams and my conscious thoughts. Not a moment went by when I was free of them. And Ryo, words cannot truly express the relief I felt when I found you in that cage and discovered that you were still alive…nor can they convey how much remorse I felt that I was not able to prevent what happened to you."_

Kaibara put his hands on either side of Ryo's face so that he could not look away, and he brushed away the tears on his son's cheeks with his thumbs.

"_You are not a stray dog or a nothing,"_ he continued. _ "You are Saeba Ryo. You are strong, intelligent, and brave. And to me, you are and always will be musuko."_

Kaibara let Ryo go and paused to give his words a chance to sink in. A few seconds later, he was surprised and pleased to see a flicker of something familiar in Ryo's eyes, a faint trace of the child he knew as his son, and it was then that he felt a weight lift from his heart that he didn't even realize was present before now. For the first time in the months after Leticia's death, Shin Kaibara felt a true and unfettered joy.

"_Do you understand now, Ryo?" _he said as he patted his left knee. "_This is nothing to me. Not compared to what I could have lost. One leg is a cheap price to pay to save your life, musuko."_

Ryo watched in disbelief as his father smiled at him as he said this, a smile full of light and happiness. It was rare for Kaibara to openly express such exuberance, and Ryo struggled to process what it meant.

'_The fact is, no sacrifice is too great for a father to make for his child.' _

It was then that Ryo had found the answer to all of his questions. He finally grasped what Norester, the Professor and even Kaibara himself had tried to tell him more than once over the years: that now and forever he was Shin Kaibara's son and that there was no limit to his father's love for him.

"_Oyaji_," he wept. "_I_…."

Kaibara felt a twinge of worry at the way Ryo's eyes filled with fresh tears, but his concerns vanished when Ryo threw his arms around him. Kaibara then smiled again and held Ryo close to him.

"_There now," _Kaibara murmured as Ryo clung to him. "_You need to free yourself from these feelings, Ryo. You were strong when you needed to be, and now is the time for release. And do not worry; I will stay with you for as long as you need."_

Ryo's sobs redoubled, but Kaibara could tell that this was not the same as the pitiful cries from earlier. This was the needed expulsion of all the fear, anger and sorrow that had been eating away at Ryo for days now. Kaibara did not relish listening to his son's anguished tears, but he also knew that this was a necessary step to help Ryo purge all of the venom that Maceno had forced into him.

Almost an hour later, Kaibara noticed that Ryo's tears were winding down and looked to see that his eyes were red and swollen, but also drowsy. Feeling fatigued himself; Kaibara laid down and guided Ryo to lie down beside him.

"_Close your eyes and rest, musuko," _he told him. Ryo nodded and shut his eyes the moment his head touched the mattress. Seconds later, Kaibara heard snoring, and he settled in and closed his own eyes.

'_Yes, now is the time for both of us to rest,' _he mused as he fell asleep. '_To find some respite from the harshness of this life. And I promise to give you as much time as you need to find yourself again, musuko.'_


	16. The Sacrifice-part six

Author's Note: Next chapter. I know it's been a while since I updated, but severe weather and the holidays have made it pretty much impossible for me to get online until now. But hopefully I will be able to get on track again for a while. :)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

Chapter Sixteen—The Sacrifice—part 6

Two hours after leaving Kaibara alone with Ryo, the Professor walked back into his hut to find both of them asleep. The Professor shook his head and smiled as he watched Kaibara lay still and quiet on one side of the bed while Ryo had his limbs sprawled out all over the bed, his snoring loud and relentless. As much as he was glad that they were both getting substantive rest, and as charming as he found the sight, the Professor figured that Ryo should move back to his quarters or at least to another bed. He started to reach down to shake Ryo to wake him up, but a voice stopped him just as he was about to put his hand on Ryo's shoulder.

"_Professor, I am sure that Norester has warned you about that by now," _Kaibara said, his eyes still closed. "_If you are not careful, you will be injured before Ryo fully wakes up."_

"_Sorry, I had forgotten for a moment there," _the Professor said. "_But I am curious, how is it that you are able to wake him with no problems?" _Kaibara let out a soft chuckle and opened his eyes to look at him.

"_My presence was the first one that Ryo learned to sense and is still the only one he can detect with complete accuracy every single time," _he replied. "_As a result, he always knows when it's me waking him and he does not lapse into the reflexes I trained him to have."_

"_Of course," _the Professor beamed at him. "_Still I do wonder if it would be better if Ryo-chan slept elsewhere. I can't imagine that it's comfortable for you with him lying there like that."_

"_It is clear that he was not getting adequate rest before, and right now he is sleeping peacefully," _Kaibara replied. "_I would rather not wake him up if at all possible. Besides, for the first couple of years or so that he was here, he slept next to me in my bed every night, so I am used to this."_

"_But that snoring," _the Professor said. "_How can you tolerate it let alone sleep through it?"_ Kaibara chuckled again, and the Professor smiled in response to both that sound and to the way that Kaibara was gently tousling Ryo's hair as he spoke without seeming to be aware of what he was doing.

"_Having listened to it for so many nights over the years, I now find it difficult to truly rest without hearing this noise in the background," _Kaibara replied as he closed his eyes again. "_Professor, I ask that you allow me to mange Ryo's care from this moment on. The truth is, I am worried about him and would prefer to keep as close of a watch on him as possible right now."_

"_I understand," _the Professor replied. "_Is there anything I could get for you? Maybe something to eat? And perhaps you have a suggestion for something to give Ryo-chan. As you know, he has not gotten enough nourishment lately either, and Norester and I are at a bit of a loss as to what he would find palatable right now."_

Kaibara opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment before answering.

"_Professor, do you happen to know how to make rice porridge?"_

* * *

After Kaibara made his request, the Professor left, and Kaibara fell back asleep for another three hours before waking up again. He immediately looked over to check on Ryo and saw that he was still slumbering.

'_How long has it been since you were able to rest this much?' _Kaibara thought to himself. '_You must have been so tired these last few days.'_

He then looked over at a stand next to the bed to see that the Professor had just left a pitcher of water along with two bowls of rice porridge, one of which was topped by sliced bananas. Kaibara grunted as he sat back up, and he looked down at Ryo for a moment more before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"_Wake up now, Ryo," _he said as he lightly shook him. "_You need to eat. Wake up."_

Ryo groaned and tried to bury his face in the mattress, but Kaibara persisted in his shaking. Soon, Ryo lifted his head and blinked his eyes open.

"_Oyaji?" _he said as he rubbed his eyes.

"_Here, sit up," _Kaibara said. "_I want you to try to eat this." _Ryo yawned and sat up as Kaibara handed him a bowl.

"_Rice porridge with bananas?" _Ryo mumbled. "_I think the last time I had this was the first week I showed up here."_

"_The Professor says that you haven't been eating enough, so I thought some comfort food might be in order," _Kaibara said. "_I'll understand if you can't eat all of it, but I ask that you try to eat as much as you can."_

Ryo nodded and the two of them silently ate for several minutes until Kaibara happened to notice that Ryo was mostly picking at his food.

"_Ryo, is something else on your mind?" _he asked. "_You should know by now that there is nothing that you cannot discuss with me, so do not feel as if you need to hide anything." _Ryo stirred his rice porridge around for a moment while staring into his bowl.

"_Oyaji…I…."_

"_Yes?"_

"_Maceno said some things," _he continued. "_About you and about what you think about me. I…I know you said that he was lying, but I…."_

"_But some of it was not too far from the truth, was it?" _Kaibara finished for him. "_Or perhaps some of what he said were things that you've thought yourself from time to time or that made you question things that you already had doubts about?" _Ryo lowered his head, his face turning red.

"_Yeah, something like that," _Ryo mumbled.

"_That is to be expected," _Kaibara nodded. "_Often, the most insidious and destructive lies are the ones that are hidden in a veil of truth. You need to understand that Maceno was fully aware of this and knew what he was doing when he told you these things."_

"_I know, but I…." _Ryo's hands gripped his bowl tightly and trembled. Kaibara watched him for a second before nodding.

"_I understand," _he said. "_You're still somewhat unsure of which things were true and which ones were lies."_

"_I keep trying to figure it out," _Ryo said, his voice strained with anxiety and frustration. "_But every time I try to sort it out, I get confused. And that makes me scared too. Sometimes even more than the nightmares do. I just want to know what I'm supposed to think."_

"_It's not my place to tell you that, musuko," _Kaibara said. "_Only you can decide what the truth actually is."_

"_But oyaji…." _Kaibara stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"_I'm not saying that you can't ask the questions you need to ask me," _he said. "_But I am not going to tell you how you should process my answers or how you should weigh them against what Maceno said to you. You are not a puppet on a string, Ryo. You are an intelligent child, and I know that you have the insight to sort the truth from the lies."_

Ryo bowed his head even more, and Kaibara frowned at the lack of confidence that Ryo was displaying. He sat his empty bowl aside and waited patiently for Ryo to speak again.

"_Why did you name me Saeba Ryo?" _Ryo finally asked. _"Norester's daughter has his name." _

"_And you wonder why I didn't give you my name, even though I call you musuko," _Kaibara nodded. "_If you remember, Ryo, I gave that name to you when I first met you, and the fact is, at the time, I had no plans to adopt you. So I had no right to claim you as my own."_

"_But later on you started to call me musuko," _Ryo said. "_Why did you do that? And why didn't you give me your name then?"_

"_I called you musuko because you had already adopted me," _Kaibara replied. "_Don't you remember? You were the one who made me oyaji. I simply accepted your decision. And as to why I didn't change your name, I did it to protect you. You know that I have numerous enemies. I do not want to make you into a target by declaring to the world that you are my child. It is the same reason why I have so many rules about when and how the two of us address each other as father and son._

"_And why did you go along with what I did?" _Ryo said in a whisper and he looked off to the side. "_You could have just told me not to call you oyaji. You didn't have to play along." _Kaibara frowned and reached over to put his hand on Ryo's chin so he could turn his face toward him.

"_My decision to accept you as my family was not a game,"_ Kaibara insisted. "_I can assure you that from the very first moment I called you musuko, I was serious about my commitment to be your father, and I have never taken my responsibility to you lightly." _Ryo tilted his head up and away from Kaibara's hand so that he could go back to staring at his bowl.

"_But why?" _he mumbled. "_Why do that in the first place? You have to work so hard just to stay alive and fight against this government. Why burden yourself with a dumb kid? I know that you've had to take a lot more risks just to keep me safe. Don't you regret your decision?"_

Kaibara's frown deepened as he listened to this and as he observed the insecure, distraught look in Ryo's eyes. He took the bowl out of Ryo's hands and sat it to the side. He then put an arm around Ryo's shoulders and drew him close.

"_Why did I adopt you?" _Kaibara said. "_That is the one question that I do not have a clear answer for. The only thing I can tell you is this: I adopted you as my child for the same reason you decided to adopt a professional soldier and killer like me as your father. I think that if you reflect on that, you will find as much of an answer as you need."_

Kaibara rubbed Ryo's shoulder and smiled a little when he felt Ryo lean against him.

"_And as to your other question, the answer is no," _he continued. "_I have never regretted my decision. Not once." _

Ryo remained silent for several minutes, and Kaibara guessed that he was mulling over everything that they had just discussed. He was surprised a few seconds later, however, when Ryo let out a giant sigh of frustration.

"_Ryo?"_

"_Oyaji….I think I knew some of this stuff, the stuff you just told me, already," _Ryo said. "_I mean, the more I think about it, the more it just seems obvious. So why couldn't I figure out that Maceno was lying to me before? Why was he able to confuse me so much?"_

"_Do not punish yourself for this, Ryo," _Kaibara said. "_You were in a horrific situation: tortured, drugged, and deprived of food, drink and rest. And on top of all of this, you had someone twisting the truth and feeding you lies almost nonstop. You are strong, but you are still a child and, truthfully, many adults would have capitulated under that kind of abuse."_

Ryo nodded and Kaibara began to stroke his back.

"_The reason you are starting to be able to discern these things now is because you've had a chance to be away from that abuse," _he added. "_You have had a chance to rest, and by now the drugs Maceno pumped into you are out of your system. I believe that you will discover that as you have more time to recuperate, your mind will continue to clear and you will be able to see Maceno's words for what they were."_

"_Will I ever stop being scared?" _Ryo whispered. "_Will I ever be able to just forget about what he did to me?"_

"_I do wish that I could tell you that you'll just forget about it, but then I would be the one lying to you," _Kaibara said. "_But even though you probably won't forget, I am certain that you will learn to deal with what happened and you will continue to grow stronger in spite of it. This will also be a part of your recovery, and I promise to support and guide you every step of the way."_

Kaibara patted his back once more and then picked the bowl of porridge and bananas up and handed it back to Ryo.

"_Speaking of your recovery, you need to eat this," _he said. "_Your temperature is still elevated, and you will not heal properly if you neglect yourself this way."_

"_But oyaji…."_

"_Ryo, do not argue with me on this, I…."_

"_But oyaji," _Ryo cut in again. "_I don't really like rice porridge. I never did." _Kaibara raised an eyebrow in surprise and frowned.

"_What are you talking about?" _he said. "_You ate plenty of it before without complaint. The first day you were here, you ate three bowls of it."_

"_Because I was starving," _Ryo replied. "_I mean, it had been days since I had eaten, and I was so hungry, even rice porridge tasted good to me."_

"_If you didn't like it, why did you keep eating it?" _Kaibara asked. "_Why didn't you ask for something else on subsequent days?"_

"_You were being so nice to me," _Ryo replied. "_Letting me follow you around all the time, telling me bedtime stories every night, sitting with me whenever I was lonely or sad for my parents, and making just about all of my meals. I just…I was so happy that you were doing all this, I didn't care that you sometimes made things I don't like, like rice porridge. But even then, I really did like the bananas."_

"_I see," _Kaibara said, his expression softening into a smile. "_Well then, when the Professor comes back, I'll ask him to make something else, and…."_

Kaibara was about to suggest some meals when Ryo suddenly started to shove spoonful after spoonful of porridge into his mouth.

"_Ryo, I thought you just said that you don't like rice porridge."_

"_Yeah, but now I'm starving again, so even this tastes good," _Ryo said between bites. "_Besides, I think the Professor is much better at making it than you. And I still like the bananas."_

"_Ryo…now you are just being contrary with me," _Kaibara smirked. _"And you know how I feel about things like that."_

"_But oyaji, you said that you just wanted me to try to eat this," _Ryo said with a nervous smile. "_You didn't say that I had to like it. And I'm going to eat it all, so that has to count for something, right?"_

Ryo continued to smile while holding out a hand toward Kaibara, who had gone back to frowning. After a moment of this, however, Kaibara smirked again, and reached over to flick the tip of Ryo's nose.

"_You little imp," _he chuckled. "_I should make you eat this for an entire week, and then maybe you will view my culinary prowess in a different way."_

"_Wait, I didn't say that I didn't like anything you make," _Ryo said, holding up another hand. "_You're not actually going to do that, are you?" _

"_I might," _Kaibara said, mirth lighting up his eyes. "_It could be amusing to watch you have to rely on the Professor for all your meals. Didn't Norester tell you about the incident with the tilapia and mangoes?" _

"_No way…that really happened?" _Ryo gulped. "_I thought Norester made that up to scare me into eating his food."_

"_If only that were true," _Kaibara said, shaking his head. "_Sadly, I will never forget how much Norester suffered due to his foolhardy decision to humor the Professor."_

Ryo gulped again, and upon seeing his expression, Kaibara started to laugh. Ryo immediately joined in, and Kaibara cherished the sound. He had been far from comfortable with how much he had had to lay his heart bare during these conversations with his son, but seeing Ryo's smile and hearing his laughter again had made all of it worthwhile.

The sound of footsteps interrupted Kaibara's reverie, and he and Ryo looked over to see the Professor and Norester walk toward them with grins of their own.

"Now that's what I've been wanting to see," Norester said. "Good to see you smiling again, kid."

"Norester," Ryo said, his tone contrite. "I'm sorry…about before and…."

"No need to apologize," Norester said, waving a hand. "I'm just glad that you're doing better."

"Ryo, I need you to finish your meal in our quarters so that I can have a talk with Norester," Kaibara said. Ryo's smile instantly faded, and he looked down into his bowl.

"_Oyaji…_I…."

"No, no arguments," Kaibara said. "You can visit me again later, but for now, I want you to eat your food and go get some rest in your own bed."

"Come on, Ryo-chan," the Professor said. "I'll walk with you."

Ryo nodded and picked up his bowl from his lap before getting up and trudging out of the hut with the Professor beside him.

"Kaibara, did you really have to do that?" Norester sighed. "Ryo was just starting to act like himself again."

"Norester…I need you to bring Galvez to me," Kaibara said quietly. "I have something important to discuss with him…and with you."

* * *

Several minutes later, Norester returned with Galvez in tow, and the two of them sat down next to Kaibara, who was sitting up to face them in his bed.

"Kaibara, I am glad to see that you are doing well," Galvez nodded. "But I must admit that you still look somewhat peaked. Just what is so important that you couldn't wait to tell me after you've recovered some more?"

"Sir, there is a traitor within our group," Kaibara replied. Both Galvez's and Norester's mouths dropped open.

"A traitor?" Galvez spluttered. "Kaibara, are you sure? What makes you think this?"

"I am certain of it," Kaibara replied. "As to how I know, while I was infiltrating Hervas' base, I heard several of the officers discussing details of one of our current mission plans. Details that they only could have learned from someone in our troop. That, along with some things that Saeba told me he had heard while he was held captive, made it obvious that someone here was feeding Maceno information about us."

"Do you know who the traitor is?" Galvez asked.

"Sadly, I do not," Kaibara said. "They never mentioned a name. Right now, I don't think we have too much to worry about since Hervas' group has disbanded, cutting off the traitor's contacts to the military. But I figure that it will only be a matter of time before he gets new contacts, and we will be in danger again."

"So we need to act quickly," Galvez responded. "Any suggestions as to how to flush him out?"

"Yes," Kaibara said. "I suggest that we spread the word in the troop that I have learned about the identity of the traitor and plan on informing you. That should compel him to act."

"Kaibara," Norester said. "You do that and you'll become a target. Whoever it is is sure to try to kill you to keep you quiet."

"A necessary risk," Kaibara said. "This is the best way to make him reveal himself quickly. I am sure that whoever it is will want to try to silence me while I am still convalescing."

"I have to agree," Galvez said. "It is risky, but it is definitely the best way to uncover the truth. All right, Kaibara, we will go with your plan. Would you like me to have guards posted around you? Secretly of course."

"No," Kaibara said. "Since we do not know who the traitor is, asking any of the others to guard me might alert him as to our plan. No, we will handle this on our own. I only require your support once we unmask the traitor."

"Understood," Galvez said as he stood up. "I will make sure to discreetly leak out this information. And Kaibara, try to not let yourself get killed. You were very fortunate this time, but I can't imagine that your luck will hold out forever."

Galvez walked out, and as soon as he was gone, Norester turned to glare at Kaibara.

"What on earth are you thinking?" he asked. "And why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I did not realize it completely myself until I spent some time talking to Ryo," Kaibara said. "I was still somewhat disoriented when I first woke up. But having had time to think about it, I was able to put the pieces together."

"That makes sense, but you still haven't answered my other question."

"I am certain that whoever is doing this is also responsible for Ryo being captured by Maceno," Kaibara said. "That should be reason enough to explain why I want to unveil him. Putting that aside though, we need to act quickly in order to keep Ryo safe. Right now, this traitor is probably wondering if there is a chance that his identity could have been revealed to Ryo while he was in the enemy camp. He hasn't had an opportunity to act since you and the Professor have been so diligent in watching over him. But it is only a matter of time before he perceives Ryo as a potential threat to him and acts accordingly."

"I understand," Norester nodded. "But surely there is another way to do this, a way that doesn't involve you being the bait."

"Perhaps, but other plans would take too long," Kaibara replied. "And we do not have the luxury of time."

Suddenly, Kaibara's vision grew fuzzy, and his head swam. He put a hand to his face as he tried to regain his bearings and didn't even notice that he was falling forward until he felt Norester catch him.

"Are you all right?" Norester asked him. "Do you need me to get the Professor?"

"No, I'm fine," Kaibara said as he laid back down. "Just a bit tired."

"Makes sense given that you were almost killed about four days ago," Norester frowned. "Kaibara, you are in no shape to deal with anyone who might come here to silence you. You should have let Galvez assign those guards to you."

"No. Like I said, we don't know who the traitor is," Kaibara said. "Right now, the only people I trust are you, Ryo and the Professor. So I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask more of my partner than usual this time. Sorry."

"I figured as much," Norester sighed. "But don't worry about it. You've watched my back more times than I can count. Now, how do you want to do this? You want me to set something up with Ryo?"

"No!" Kaibara insisted. "I do not want him involved in this. He is still recovering from his ordeal. He needs to rest as much as possible."

"So do you," Norester replied. "And yet, you don't seem to have enough sense to do it."

"It's not the same," Kaibara frowned. "My condition will improve over time with simple things like sleep, medicine and focused training. For Ryo…if he is pushed too much right now, I fear that his mind and heart will not be able to heal properly. No, he needs to stay out of this."

"I suppose I understand," Norester said. "But I still don't like it…Well then, have you got a plan of your own lined up?"

"I have a few ideas," Kaibara smirked. "How about we put together the best ones?"

The two of them then spent the next hour formulating a plan of attack, each of them hoping that the doubts they had at the back of their minds were only the normal worries that went with any campaign.

* * *

Unbeknownst to either of them was the fact that Ryo was lurking outside the hut and had listened to their conversation.

'_There's a traitor here?' _he wondered. '_No way. Who could it be?'_

Ryo frowned and clenched his hands in frustration when he heard Kaibara dismiss Norester's idea of having him help out, but then he thought back to the things Kaibara had just told him and his anger lessened.

'_Oyaji is just trying to protect me again. He's doing all this…setting himself up as bait for a trap…just to make sure that whoever it is can't hurt me.'_

'_But…there's no way oyaji can fight like this. He's so weak right now, and his leg….'_

Ryo narrowed his eyes, his hands tightening even more into fists as his anger returned with even more vigor than before.

'_No, I'm not going to just stay in bed anymore. I'm not going to let anyone hurt oyaji. I'm going to find the traitor and make him pay for helping Maceno get me. I'm going to stop him.'_

Ryo tried to think of something he could do when an idea suddenly struck him, causing his mouth to drop open in shock. It was in that moment that he was certain that he had figured out who the traitor was.

'_Could it…could it really be him? I know he doesn't really get along with me or oyaji, but would he really…? No, I'm sure I'm right. It must be him. It's the only thing that makes sense. He must be the traitor.'_

Ryo heard someone approaching him and guessed that it was the Professor wondering where he had wandered off to. He took a couple of deep breaths and made sure to put a smile on his face so the Professor wouldn't imagine what he was thinking.

In his mind, however, Ryo was already making a plan of his own: a plan to follow the person he suspected and to make sure that he would not get a chance to make a move against his father.

* * *

Later that night, a shadow drifted into the Professor's hut, quietly creeping toward Kaibara's slumbering form. It briefly paused to see if anyone else was around and upon finding no one, continued to advance toward the bed at the back of the hut. A gun with a silencer was pulled out, but the sound of a Magnum's hammer being cocked stopped the shadow from moving.

"So you finally show up," Kaibara said, his eyes still closed even as he aimed his Magnum. "I knew that it wouldn't be long before you came."

"Kaibara, you bastard."

Kaibara smirked and turned on a lantern that had been sat next to his bed. He then turned to his side and perched up on one arm, his eyebrows arching in surprise at the face he saw in front of him.

"Perez?" he said. "I'll admit, I am surprised that it is you."

"Ha, are you actually admitting that I had you fooled?" Perez said. "The great Shin Kaibara?"

"No, I'm just surprised because I didn't think you had the audacity to cross me, let alone our troop," Kaibara smirked again. "Tell me, just what did Maceno promise you for your assistance?"

"A position at his next assignment," Perez laughed. "A position of real power, as opposed to the grunt work I'm stuck with around here."

"So, you sold out your comrades and your countrymen for a promotion?" Kaibara said, shaking his head.

"Shut up!" Perez barked at him. "It wasn't about the position. Not really. The fact is, this whole thing, it's a losing game, Kaibara. You're just too stubborn to figure it out. The government is going to win this war, and when that time comes, it'll be better to be with them than against them."

Perez took another couple of steps toward Kaibara, his gun still aimed at his chest.

"But just as important as that was the chance Captain Maceno gave me to get back at you," he said. "You and Norester, Galvez treats you two like you're gods among men. It's like you can do no wrong in his mind."

"And this is your solution?" Kaibara asked. "To make up for being an average soldier by betraying your comrades? Why not just try to be a better man and more competent professional?"

"That's just it, I wanted to," Perez shot back. "I've been training myself for years to be a great professional just so I could make something of myself. But then I get here and see that, despite all my training, a foreigner like you was in a league that I couldn't touch. I wonder if you even remember how I begged you to take me on as your student, to have you teach me the skills you learned as a professional."

"I remember turning you down," Kaibara replied. "I am not in the habit of training people."

"And yet you pour all that energy into training that little brat of yours," Perez spat at him. "Don't try to deny it. You've been teaching him everything you know."

"My decision to do that is none of your concern," Kaibara growled at him. "But if you must know, part of the reason why I train him and not you is because he actually has true potential. He is already your superior with a gun, and there will eventually come a time when he will probably surpass me as well. Even more significant than that though is the fact that he has vastly more potential than you as a human being, and that is far more important than anything that could be accomplished by us as professionals."

Kaibara aimed his gun at Perez's head and put his finger near the trigger.

"If I had my way, you would be dead by now for your betrayal," he continued. "But I've decided to let Galvez be the one to determine your fate."

"Ha, do you really think that it will be that easy, Kaibara?" Perez chortled. "Maybe you're thinking that your partner will be showing up to save you? But what if I were to tell you that he's already got something else to keep him occupied?"

"What do you mean?" Kaibara asked, narrowing his eyes at him. Seconds after the words came out of his mouth, however, there was a loud boom off in the distance, and Kaibara could see flickers of flames out of the corner of his eye.

"You see, I thought that you might try to nab me at some point," Perez continued. "That's why I asked Captain Maceno to lend me one of his men to have on standby. The two of us have developed quite the partnership. Right now, he's probably keeping Norester quite busy with all the grenades he's brought to use on the village."

"Perez…you're forgetting that I still have my gun pointed at you," Kaibara frowned at him. "And while I know that Galvez might prefer to take you alive, I am certain he will understand if that turns out to be impossible."

"Still so overconfident," Perez grinned. "I guess you don't even realize how badly you were injured. Usually you would have been able to figure out what I already know by now."

Kaibara was about to ask what he meant, when he suddenly discovered that he had missed sensing another person sneaking into the hut. He turned his head toward the other presence just before a bullet sailed by him, knocking the gun out of his hand. Kaibara winced, but remained impassive as Perez laughed again and moved closer to the bed.

"You see, there wasn't just one traitor," he said. "There were two of us. Me and Tamez, who has also grown weary with playing for the losing side. And now, the two of us are going to send you to hell, Shin Kaibara."

Tamez emerged from the shadows with his gun drawn and the both of them moved closer to Kaibara. He watched them prepare to shoot when a pair of gunshots rang out, knocking the guns out of Tamez's and Perez's hands.

"Get away from him."

Kaibara, Tamez and Perez looked over to see Ryo standing in the doorway, a pistol in his hands which was pointed directly at Perez's head.

"Saeba? You…."

"Ryo, what are you doing here?" Kaibara said.

"Sir, I had a feeling that the traitor was Perez," Ryo replied. "That day, the day we were supposed to ambush that supply truck, Perez was the one who left me alone in the jungle. And the moment he was gone, Maceno attacked me. He lured me out there so Maceno could get me."

Ryo's hands trembled slightly as he aimed his gun at Perez, and Kaibara was startled by the murderous glint in his eyes.

"You did that, didn't you?" Ryo snarled at Perez. "You helped Maceno so he could capture me. It's your fault that he was able to do all that stuff to me…And…and you told him all that other stuff, didn't you? About me, about Kaibara, about all of it."

"And what if I did?" Perez sneered at him. "Maceno said that he'd make good use out of that information, and he did, didn't he? I heard you screaming your head off the other night. He must have really put you through hell. You know, I almost wish I could have been there for that. But I guess I can settle with knowing that you'll never be the same, not after what he did to you. He messed you up completely."

Kaibara felt his blood boil as he listened to Perez mock Ryo and what he had endured. His rage was tempered with concern, however, at the way Ryo stared at Perez with tears glistening in his eyes and anger shining behind them. His concern then shifted to panic when Ryo pulled the hammer back on his gun and placed his finger on the trigger.

"Ryo, listen to me," Kaibara said, his tone firm but quiet. "Leave these two to Galvez."

"I…I'm sorry, sir, but I can't," Ryo stuttered. "I have to stop them before they hurt anyone else. I have to protect you and our village."

"You've done your job," Kaibara said. "Now I am ordering you to stand down and wait for Norester to apprehend them."

"Sir…I…I can't…I…I have to…."

Perez flinched as Ryo's finger shook against the trigger, the anger and tears in his eyes giving way to an icy glare that he had seen many times in Kaibara's eyes right before he killed someone.

"Monster, the kid's a monster," Perez whispered. Kaibara watched Ryo take a breath and prepare to shoot, his eyes void of any shred of mercy or humanity.

"_Stop, musuko!"_

To Kaibara's relief, astonishment filled Ryo's eyes upon hearing those words and he moved his finger away from the trigger.

"_Oyaji? Why….?"_

"_Ryo, listen to me," _Kaibara interrupted. "_Do not do this. Do not give in to this bloody revenge. Let Galvez be the one to deliver their punishment."_

"_Why? Why shouldn't I do it?" _Ryo said, his voice raw with emotion. "_Why shouldn't I kill them? Isn't that what you would do? Kill them so they can't hurt anyone else? Kill them to make them pay? Why can't I be the one to do it this time?"_

"_Because right now you are not acting out of a need to punish the wicked, to protect others or to defend yourself," _Kaibara replied. "_You are acting purely out of anger and fear. You do this, and you'll be no different than those animals who kill selfishly to sate their own desires."_

"_What does it matter?" _Ryo said, tears reappearing in his eyes. "_Perez is right. I can't get Maceno out of my head. I…I can't be me anymore."_

"_That's simply not true," _Kaibara said. "_You are still Saeba Ryo. You are still the boy who Norester and the Professor consider a friend, a trusted ally, and a joy to have in their lives. And to me you are still musuko, my child with a strong, warm heart. I know that that heart has not been destroyed, no matter what this fool says."_

"_Oyaji."_

"_Listen to that heart now, musuko. Let it guide your actions instead of your fear."_

Ryo blinked hard and backed up against the doorway while still keeping his aim on Perez and Tamez, but he not did fire. Kaibara leaned over and scooped up his Magnum from the floor and also kept it pointed at them. Moments later, Norester showed up moved past Ryo to grab the guns off the floor.

"Sorry I'm late," Norester said. "I had a pesky gnat to deal with outside. But it looks like you've got things under control here."

"Indeed," Kaibara nodded. "And now, perhaps you could take them to Galvez. I am tired of having to look at them."

"Will do," Norester said. "Go on, you two. I'm sure Galvez has got some big plans for you…not all of which involve talking."

Norester led the both of them out of the hut, and Kaibara placed Magnum under his pillow before motioning at Ryo to come to him. Ryo slowly shuffled over, and once he was next to the bed, Kaibara took the gun from his hands.

"_Ryo, I want to thank you for saving my life," _he said as he sat the pistol aside. "_You were very astute in figuring out who the traitor was and in making sure to support me in the trap Norester and I had prepared for him."_

Kaibara frowned at the distant look in Ryo's eyes and the way he continued to shake. He guided Ryo to sit on the bed with him and covered both of Ryo's hands with one of his.

"_Ryo?"_

"_I wanted to kill him. I really did,"_ Ryo murmured. "_I kept thinking about everything Maceno did to me, and I…wanted to make him pay."_

"_Is that why you followed him here?" _Kaibara asked. "_So you could get an opportunity to kill him?"_

"_A part of it, I guess," _Ryo said. "_But I…I really did want to protect you and the village too. You've taken care of me so much and I wanted to be strong and take care of myself. I didn't want you to keep having to do everything for me. But then I saw him and heard what he was saying and I just couldn't stop myself."_

"_Ryo, do not doubt your strength," _Kaibara said as he squeezed his hands. "_I see it all the time in the way you conduct yourself with dignity and compassion in this horrendous place. But you need to understand that, in this situation, killing Perez would not have been about strength, it would have been about hatred, and the last thing I would ever want for you is to let your heart be consumed by that kind of hatred._

Ryo looked down at the bed with an unreadable expression on his face. Kaibara put a hand to his shoulder

"_Listen, Norester and I will be leaving the village for a time in a day or two," _Kaibara continued. "_Norester is going to let me stay with his family while I am treated by a friend of the Professor's. You will be going with us so you can also rest and recover from your wounds. Understand? Now, go back to our quarters and get some sleep. We will need to start preparing to leave tomorrow."_

Ryo slowly nodded, and Kaibara patted his shoulder before lying back down in bed. He was about to wish Ryo a good night, but Ryo immediately laid down beside him and grabbed at his shirt.

"_All right," _Kaibara said as he pulled a blanket over the both of them. "_You can stay with me tonight if you want. I just ask that you let yourself relax and get some sleep."_

Kaibara closed his eyes, his heart troubled by the way Ryo was acting. He was about to drift into an uneasy slumber when he suddenly felt Ryo shift and settle into the bed even more.

"_Oyaji."_

"_What is it?"_

"_Could you…could you please tell the story again? About the rabbit on the moon?" _Ryo whispered. "_Just until I fall asleep?" _

Kaibara smiled. It might have seemed like an innocuous request, but in that moment, he was certain that, just like before when he first arrived in the village from the wreckage of the plane crash, Ryo simply needed time and support to recover from his nightmare. And in that same moment, Kaibara vowed to give him all the support and care that he needed.

"_Of course, musuko. Now, close your eyes and rest." _


	17. The Decision-part one

Author's Note: Next chapter and new section. :) Since I already had this written and it had been so long since I updated, I decided to go ahead and put it up today. :D

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :D

**Eve: **Thank you for the review as always. :) Sorry, it's been so long, but as I mentioned in the previous chapter, life, the holidays and the weather really got in the way...I think it makes sense that, when he was younger, it might have been harder for Ryo to completely control his emotions and that sometimes he might be confused or lost as to when he should hold back with his abilities and when he should use them. Especially when you consider that he grew up in a brutal environment where people were frequently killing each other. And I think you will see in this and in later chapters how those doubts and emotions continued to play a hand in how he turned out later on...and why he often puts forth the persona that he does as an adult...Anyway, I hope you enjoy this double-update today. :)

**Erika Chk: **Hello and thank you for the review. :) I am glad that you are enjoying the long chapters because I have a feeling that they are going to continue to be the normal trend...I'll admit that I have also spent a lot of time wondering about Ryo's early life, especially after I finally got the chance to read the last few volumes of the manga, and I was surprised that there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of fics that are dedicated to this time period in Ryo's life. Thus why I decided I wanted to try my own hand at writing one. :) Anyway, I am glad that you are enjoying this one so far, and I hope you enjoy this update and my future work as well. :D

Chapter Seventeen—The Decision—part one

"No Ryo, stop it! Cut it out!"

"Ah ha, ha, I'm going to get you!"

A short distance away, Sophie Norester, a woman with grey eyes and bright auburn hair, watched the scene in front of her with a smile on her face. Over in her backyard, she saw a blond girl with pigtails be chased by a boy with tousled hair and eyes full of laughter. Despite her daughter's protests, Sophie was confident that Mary actually enjoyed being chased by her new friend, Ryo.

Sophie poured some lemonade into glasses and sat them on a small table on the back porch. She then sat down on a lawn chair and watched the children play as she thought back to the events leading to this point.

* * *

Three months ago, her husband had come home with Kaibara and Ryo and had explained the situation to her. She immediately welcomed both of them into her home and prepared the guest room for them.

Kaibara ended up convalescing in bed for three weeks before visiting the doctor the Professor had referred him to. Kaibara had prepared to use most of his savings to cover the physician's expenses, but was shocked when he was told that there would be no charge for his treatment or even his prosthetic.

"My wife and child are still alive today thanks to the Professor's courage and skill," the doctor explained. "Believe me, this is nothing compared to everything he did…and I have been waiting a long time for a chance to repay him."

The doctor managed to find him a prosthetic leg that would be durable enough for the type of work Kaibara did, and Kaibara immediately began therapy to learn to walk again. The doctor had cautioned that progress would be slow, but was soon stunned at how quickly Kaibara taught himself to not only walk, but run and occasionally jump with his new leg.

"He is a very strong man," the doctor told Norester once during one of Kaibara's follow up visits. "A determined man. He must be working constantly to achieve this level of physical acumen in such a short time."

"You have no idea," Norester replied. "Not a day or night goes by when he isn't training himself."

"Well no matter what, it is impressive," the doctor nodded. "And I can safely say that his results thus far are very positive. Quite frankly, even I would not be able to tell that he had a prosthetic leg if it weren't for that slight limp that he still has. It is entirely possible that he will regain pretty much all of his former abilities over time."

Norester couldn't help but agree when he considered how much Kaibara pushed himself in his daily routines. He pondered how he had known that Kaibara was a strong man for years, but the way he tackled his rehabilitation with an unflagging resolve further reinforced this idea in Norester's mind, and he found that he had developed an even greater respect for his partner than he had before.

When Kaibara did take the time to relax from his training, he spent much of his time tending to Ryo. Once Ryo's physical wounds had pretty much healed, Kaibara went back to training him, but the sessions tended to be shorter than normal and more focused on specific skills. Kaibara spent more time on educating Ryo with books from local libraries covering a vast array of subjects and on teaching and then playing games with him like chess, _shogi_ and _go_. Other times, the two of them would go on walks to explore the city that was a few miles from Norester's place or would simply spend hours talking to each other or just silently sitting together in the back yard or in the front room.

While Kaibara was training or going to his doctor visits, Ryo found a variety of ways to amuse himself, including playing with Mary, who had quickly become fond of him. But he also made sure to help out however he could by assisting Sophie with the household chores and by finding ways to help his father whenever he might need him.

* * *

Sophie continued to smile as she watched Ryo and Mary laugh and play together. Recently, Mary had begun to train to follow in her father's footsteps, and while Sophie was not always thrilled with the prospect of her daughter becoming a professional, she knew that Mary was too much like her father to back down from this path. She was aware though that their lifestyle and her father's work made it so that Mary usually could not relate to other children her own age, and Sophie was glad that she could now have a friend like Ryo who lived a life similar to her own and who could understand the world she lived in. She suspected that Ryo also benefited from their friendship in similar ways.

Her smile became a little more wistful, however, when she thought more about Ryo. Sophie had heard about Ryo for years from her husband, and she was immediately charmed by him once she finally got the chance to meet him. Her fondness for him increased as the days went by, especially after she noted how well Mary took to him.

She couldn't help but notice, however, that Ryo appeared to be carrying plenty of pain and sorrow behind his smiles, and this idea was driven home on the nights when she heard Ryo scream himself awake from his nightmares. She often wished that there was some way she could comfort him from those night terrors, but she was consistently reassured by the way Kaibara always took care of Ryo afterwards. Eventually, Norester told her some of the basics of what Ryo had gone through, and she was dismayed that a child like him had had to endure such horrors.

Overall though, Sophie felt a deep contentment toward the life they were currently living. She was able to be with her husband almost all the time, and Mary got to spend time with her father. Both Kaibara and Ryo seemed to relax and find some peace while they recovered, and Sophie noticed that Ryo seemed to improve mentally and emotionally at the same steady pace that Kaibara did physically. All of them had quickly adjusted to the crowded living conditions with a light, familial atmosphere pervading their lives.

"Ryo, you meanie, you cheated," Mary shouted as Ryo finally caught up with her and grabbed her arm. "I tripped on a rock and that's why you were able to get me."

"Too bad," Ryo grinned as he pumped a fist in triumph. "Didn't Norester ever tell you that you have to be aware of your surroundings at all times? I thought you were in training too."

"But I've just started," she whined. "You've been training for years. It wasn't fair." Mary let out a dramatic sniffle, and a giant bead of sweat appeared on Ryo's forehead.

"Hey, come on, don't cry," he said. "Look, I'll call it a draw this time and now you can chase me, ok?" Mary immediately stopped sniffling and her frown was replaced with a devilish grin.

"Really? Ryo, you fell for it again," she laughed. "You're such a silly dummy."

"Hey, you tricked me," Ryo frowned. "That's not fair either." Mary laughed again for a moment before her face suddenly became thoughtful.

"Don't be mad," she said. She then leaned over and gave Ryo a quick peck on the cheek. Ryo gasped and put a hand over where she had kissed him.

"Mary."

"When I grow up, I'm going to marry you, Ryo," Mary smiled at him. "So don't forget it, ok?"

"Ok, I guess," Ryo shrugged. "But why do you want to do that?"

"Silly, because I like you," Mary grinned. "That's what boys and girls who like each other do. You're my favorite boy in the whole world, so I'm going to marry you, all right?"

"Ok," Ryo smiled back. "But…you have to catch me first." Ryo then giggled and took off running again, with Mary close behind him.

Sophie laughed at this exchange, and her smile grew as she watched her husband sit down next to her.

"Our daughter is quite taken with Kaibara's son," Sophie said as Norester put his arms around her. "And honestly, I approve of her choice."

"Yeah, Ryo's a great kid," Norester chuckled. "It's nice for him to be able to spend some time with someone around his age."

"Just how old is Ryo anyway?" Sophie asked.

"We're not entirely sure," Norester frowned. "Ryo couldn't remember how old he was or when his birthday was when we found him. Kaibara seems to think that he might be getting close to ten years old."

"Poor thing, he's had such a hard life," Sophie sighed. "And yet he's always such a dear."

"Yeah," Norester said. "You can chalk a huge portion of that up to Kaibara. I know he hasn't had it easy in life either, but he always tries his best with Ryo."

"Stephen, I heard you and Kaibara arguing the other night," Sophie said quietly. "Is really true? Has he actually found a relative of Ryo's? A blood relation?"

"Kaibara's pretty sure that he has," Norester said, his frown increasing. "I've done some poking around myself, and it does look like a pretty strong possibility…and it looks like I was right when I originally thought that Ryo's family might be loaded."

"Stephen, what if it's true?" Sophie asked. "What if these really are Ryo's relatives? What is Kaibara going to do?"

"Honestly, I don't know what is going on inside his head," Norester said. "But I can safely say that he is grappling with one of the hardest decisions of his entire life right now…and there is nothing I can do to sway his decision one way or the other."

"I see," Sophie said. "Well I hope that he makes the right decision, for his sake and Ryo's."

"I hope so too," Norester sighed as he held her close. The two of them held each other for a moment until the sound of laughter interrupted their calm, and Ryo and Mary ran up to them.

"Papa," Mary said, rushing over to hug Norester. "Ryo said that he's going to train with me and that he'll show me stuff that you haven't shown me yet."

"Hey, I didn't say that I'd do that," Ryo laughed nervously, waving a hand in front of him.

"Don't worry, kid," Norester grinned. "I know that my daughter is prone to telling tales."

"Papa, you're mean," Mary frowned dramatically. Norester grinned even more and hoisted Mary onto his lap.

"And you're quite the little trouble-maker," Norester replied. "But I think I'll keep you anyway." Mary pouted for a second before smiling and hugging her father.

"Ryo, if you're wondering where your father is, he's probably in the front room by now," Norester said.

"Ok, thanks," Ryo grinned before running into the house. Norester laughed and pulled Mary away from him, so he could face her.

"Now, what would you like to do before supper tonight?" he asked her.

"Tea party, of course," Mary laughed.

"Again? All right," Norester said, putting a hand to the back of his head. "I just wish I knew where your recent obsession with tea parties came from."

"Papa, let's get Ryo to join us this time," Mary said.

"Not this time, Mary," Norester replied. "Right now, he's going to want to spend time with his father."

"Ryo's dad…he's kind of scary sometimes," Mary said quietly. "He doesn't smile very much, and he's so quiet. Why does Ryo always want to spend time with him?"

"Mary, what kind of a question is that?" Sophie asked. Mary bowed her head, but Norester put his hand under her chin so she would look back up at him.

"It's ok, Sophie," he said. "Kaibara can be kind of intense at times. Mary, the reason why Ryo likes to spend time with him is the same reason why you like to be with me: because Kaibara's his father and Ryo loves him. And don't let Kaibara fool you. That frown he often has is just a way to hide the fact that he's actually got a soft spot a mile wide in his heart. Do you get what I am saying?"

"I guess I get it," Mary nodded. "Does Ryo's dad love him as much as you love me?" Norester shared a look with Sophie for a second before looking back at his daughter with eyes tinged with sadness.

"Yes Mary," Norester said softly. "Just like me with you and your mother, Ryo's dad loves him more than anything else in the world."

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the house, Kaibara collapsed onto the couch and closed his eyes, having just completed a particularly intense training session. He was pleased with the steady rate at which his strength was returning, but was still frustrated at the relatively slow progress that he was making at getting his balance and agility back. He remembered what the doctor had told him about the remarkable strides he had made in his recovery thus far, but for Kaibara, just being able to get around on his new leg was far from sufficient.

Kaibara opened his eyes and reached down to rub the area below his left knee. He had heard stories about "phantom pains" from others who had lost a limb, and thus, he wasn't all that surprised to be suffering from them himself. He did wonder though, if he they would eventually fade as he adjusted to his false leg or if he would be bothered by them for the rest of his life.

He started to close his eyes again, but a familiar presence stopped him and he smiled instead.

"_Hello Ryo," _he said. "_I take it that you had an enjoyable time with Mary again today." _

Ryo slowly walked into the room and sat down next to Kaibara on the couch.

"_Yeah she's great," _he said. "_She's not like the other kids in those villages or around here. She knows how to have fun and isn't all weird about me and the stuff I do."_

"_That's probably because she is Norester's daughter through and through," _Kaibara smirked. "_He is never at a loss to find ways to have fun. And she is training to be a professional like her father, like us, so it makes sense that she is not repelled by the lives we lead."_

"_She said that she was going to marry me," _Ryo said. Kaibara chuckled and shook his head.

"_Well that's something the two of you will need to work out," _he said. "_Do not expect me or Norester to solve that one for either of you."_ Ryo let out a chuckle of his own, but then his smile abruptly faded.

"_Oyaji…does your leg still hurt?" _he asked in a whisper.

Kaibara frowned in response. He figured that Ryo must have seen him rubbing his leg a moment ago which led to him asking this question. He did not care for the possible directions a question like this could lead to, but he decided that it was best to be honest with Ryo.

"_Once in a while yes," _he replied. "_But no more than any of my other old wounds._" He then placed a hand on Ryo's head.

"_Remember what I said, musuko," _he added. "_This is just a trifle compared to what I could have lost. I cannot stress that enough."_

Kaibara patted his head a couple times, and Ryo moved closer to lean against him. Kaibara then moved his hand to rub Ryo's shoulder.

"_Now, let me ask you a question," _Kaibara said. "_Ryo, do you like it here? Are you enjoying this time with Norester's family?"_

"_Oh yes," _Ryo beamed. "_I wish…."_

"_Yes?"_

"_I wish it could always be like this," _Ryo said. "_Then I could read and play and have fun every day."_

"_I see," _Kaibara said as he kept his eyes fixed on the window across from him. "_It would be a good life for you." _Kaibara fell silent for a couple minutes and continued to stare at the scenery outside while keeping his hand on Ryo's shoulder.

"_Ryo…what if I were to tell you that you could have a life just like this?" _Kaibara said. "_A life where you could play and learn and live just like any other child?"_

"_Really?" _Ryo said, his eyes growing wide. "_Do you really mean it?"_

"_There might be a chance, yes," _Kaibara replied. "_We will have to wait and see."_

"_Yay!" _Ryo nearly bellowed as he jumped up off the couch. "_I hope it happens. I really do. Then I could be happy all the time."_

Kaibara smiled as he watched Ryo practically bounce around the room with excitement, and he thought back to a meeting he had had a week ago.

* * *

Kaibara had traveled into town alone a month previous to secure a new Colt Python Magnum for Ryo from a local gunsmith with a solid reputation among the professionals in the area. While he was there, he had heard something that caught his interest.

"Hey, you're Japanese, right?" the gunsmith said. "There's a lady hanging around these parts who's looking for information about some Japanese kid who might have gotten himself lost around here a few years ago. Something about a plane crash and how there might have been some survivors. If you know anything, I'd suggest setting up a meeting with her. She's offering good money…good enough to meet her even if you don't know anything, if you catch my drift."

Kaibara eventually found out that the woman in question was a lawyer for the Shibatas, a wealthy family from Japan who had sole ownership of the powerful Shibata Concern whose base was on the outskirts of Tokyo. On one of his trips to get some books for himself and Ryo, Kaibara checked into the Shibata family and Concern. Of particular interest was the youngest daughter of the current head of the Shibata family, Kozue Shibata. Kaibara learned that she had married a man named Takuya Jinguji, who was the only son of the head of the Jinguji Concern, Michihiko Jinguji, and that she and her husband had been killed almost seven years ago in a plane crash along with their son, Ryoichi.

Kaibara ended up spending the rest of the day in training after he returned back to Norester's place that evening. He could not deny that there were a lot of similarities between this tragic story and Ryo's own past. Still, there were some key details that were still unknown, and Kaibara was aware that Ryo had not been the only child on that plane. He ended up spending the next three weeks mulling over whether or not he should further explore this possibility and it had led to more than one sleepless night for him.

His decision to look into it was eventually finalized, however, after one night when Ryo had woken up from another nightmare and had spent hours in Kaibara's arms while tearfully describing how Maceno had taken him for a plane ride as a way to scare him into revealing secrets about their guerilla troop. It was then that Kaibara decided that if there was a chance that Ryo could escape the harsh life of a professional, it was his duty as a father to make it happen.

He ended up meeting with the lawyer, Mei Matsumura, over coffee as she explained her current assignment.

"_You see, my employer, Shibata Shigenobu, never put complete faith in the official government reports_," Matsumura told him. "_He was certain that they glossed over as much as they could to avoid any sort of scrutiny into their actions in the matter_."

"_Not an unwise position to take, quite frankly_," Kaibara had replied. "_I take it that he doesn't believe that there weren't any survivors in the crash that claimed his daughter's life."_

"_Correct," _Matsumura said. "_He was so convinced that there was a chance that either his daughter or his grandson survived that he built another residence here and hired me to so he could continue his inquiries."_

"_He did not care if his son-in-law was still alive?" _Kaibara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"_I'm afraid that Shibata-sama never approved of his daughter's marriage to Jinguji-sama," _Matsumura answered. "_Apparently, he felt that Jinguji-sama was not a very….proper sort of man for his beloved daughter."_ Matsumura leaned closer to Kaibara and adjusted the glasses on her face.

"_Kaibara-san, I took the liberty of investigating you a little before meeting you here today," _she said. "_From what I've been able to gather, you work on the side of justice despite the fact that you are considered a dangerous professional. I am appealing to you help me and my employer if you can. If you know anything that might give Shibata-sama some closure in this matter, it would mean everything to him. And…if there is a chance that either Kozue-sama or Ryoichi-sama is still alive, I beg that you help me reunite them with their family."_

Kaibara had stared at the table for several minutes before finally giving her an answer.

"_There is a chance that a child currently in my company is the grandson your employer is seeking," _he murmured. "_I cannot be certain though because this child has no memory of his birth family."_

"_I see," _Matsumura said. "_While I do not want to falsely inflate Shibata-sama's hopes, I ask that you bring this child to meet with me and him at his residence. Then we can begin the process to see if he is indeed Jinguji Ryoichi."_

Kaibara then set up a date and place for them to meet up before going to Shibata's house and then parted without another word.

* * *

Kaibara continued to take in Ryo's enthusiasm with a wan smile on his face. At one point he had discussed his meeting with Norester and was met with not unexpected skepticism and disagreement.

"Listen Kaibara," Norester had told him. "Even if you're right about these being Ryo's relatives, that doesn't necessarily mean what you think it does. Ryo has a life and an identity as Ryo Saeba; he has someone who he considers to be his real father. You can't just erase all of that in an instant by throwing him with a bunch of strangers who just happen to share some blood ties with him. You have to think about his feelings and his best interests too."

Kaibara finally started to frown when he remembered the things Norester had told him. He didn't say it aloud, but he had thought about how focused he had been on those very things: on Ryo's wellbeing and his best interests. It had been at the forefront of his mind for weeks as he strived to help Ryo recover from his time as Maceno's captive and as he watched Ryo experience true happiness while living with Norester's family.

He wasn't able to remain upset with Norester, however, despite their disagreement because he could see his point as well. He understood that, as a father himself, Norester would never want to contemplate sending Mary away to live with other people, even if he thought it might be somewhat safer for her. Still, Kaibara was convinced that Norester's situation and his own were two different things and that he could not allow things like his own desires and sentiment to get in the way of this decision.

"_Ryo, Sophie has told me that you've been taking lessons from her on how to cook," _Kaibara said, interrupting his celebration.

"_Yeah," _Ryo nodded. "_I really like her food, so I wanted to learn how to make it. And I…."_

"_Yes?"_

"_I…I know you're really busy with getting better and all," _Ryo continued, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. "_So I thought…I thought I could help you by making it so you don't have to cook for me all the time…you know, once we get back to the village. And maybe I could be the one to make our meals instead when you don't feel like it."_

"_I see," _Kaibara smiled at him, warmed by Ryo's thoughtfulness. "_Well then, how about we put your new skills to the test, and you help me make dinner for everyone tonight?"_

"_Sure," _Ryo grinned. "_You'll see, I'm going to be a great cook. Way better than the Professor."_

"_Well that would not take much effort," _Kaibara smirked at him. "_I should tell you about the time he decided to see if chicken and chili peppers would make a good stir fry recipe. As a precautionary tale, of course."_

Ryo started to giggle and Kaibara laughed with him as the two of them walked into the kitchen.

* * *

Later that night, Kaibara lie awake in bed, going over his plans for tomorrow. He had told Ryo to pack his things because they were going on a short trip, but he had not gone into detail about what was actually going on. Norester had insisted on going as well, and Kaibara had found it impossible to argue with his logic for accompanying him.

A loud snore caught his attention, and Kaibara looked over at the bed across the room from him to see Ryo tangled up in his sheets, one of his arms hanging over the side of the bed. Kaibara got up and walked over to Ryo's bed so he could reposition his blankets. Although these days, more nights were peaceful than not, Kaibara had fallen into the habit of spending some time every night to watch over Ryo while he slept.

After tucking Ryo back into the bed and watching him for a moment more, Kaibara was about to go back to bed when a whimper from Ryo stopped him. He looked back down to see Ryo begin to toss about restlessly in bed, his eyes closed and sweat beading on his forehead. Kaibara was certain that Ryo was in the grip of another nightmare and decided to stop this one before it could continue any further. He sat down on the bed next to Ryo and gently placed his hands on his shoulders.

"_Ryo…Ryo wake up now," _he told him. Ryo moaned again and struggled against Kaibara's hold on him.

"_No…no…please don't," _Ryo slurred out. "_I…I can't see….Please…."_

"_Wake up, musuko," _Kaibara said while giving Ryo a firmer shake. "_It's just a dream. Wake up now." _ Ryo's eyelids cracked open, but he did not seem to be completely aware of his surroundings.

"_Oyaji…I can't see," _he gasped, panicked. "_No…get it off me…."_

Ryo started to squirm away again, but Kaibara reached over to turn on a lamp next to his bedside and pulled Ryo into a sitting position so he could hold him close. Ryo responded by grabbing his arm, his breaths unsteady and rapid.

"_It's all right now," _Kaibara assured him. "_It was just a dream. Relax and breathe."_

"_Oyaji…it…it was so real. I…."_

"_I know, but it's over now," _Kaibara said as he stroked his back. "_Calm down and focus on your breathing."_

Kaibara then began to count Ryo's breaths aloud, and he knew that Ryo was counting with him silently. After about a minute of this, Ryo's breathing became more even and he stopped trembling. Ryo took a couple of deeper breaths and let go of Kaibara before sitting up on his own.

"_Sorry," _Ryo said. "_I keep trying to do the stuff you told me to do to sleep better, but sometimes I…."_

"_There is no need to apologize to me," _Kaibara said. "_And do not be so harsh with yourself. You have been doing much better at night recently. Still, these techniques are not guaranteed to work every time, so do not worry excessively when they don't. Now, would you like me to stay with you for a while?"_

"_Please," _Ryo said. "_But not here."_

"_All right," _Kaibara said as he stood up. "_Come with me."_

Kaibara grabbed a large blanket from the closet, and Ryo followed him out the front room. Once there were there, Kaibara turned on a lamp beside the couch and selected a book from the stack gathered at the corner of the room. He then sat down on the couch, and Ryo joined him, nestling close to him as Kaibara placed the blanket over the both of them.

"_I think tonight is a good night to teach you about General Hannibal," _Kaibara said as he opened the book.

"_Oh, you mean the guy with the elephants," _Ryo nodded.

"_Same as always," _Kaibara sighed. "_You coast right past any analysis of his tactical genius and latch onto a trivial detail like that."_

"_Oyaji, how did he get all those elephants in the first place?" _Ryo asked. _"Did he just happen to have them sitting around his base or what? I mean, if he had had to catch and train all of them, couldn't his enemies have just used that time to set up a bunch of traps for when he showed up? And even if they didn't, aren't elephants afraid of mice? One mouse could have ruined an entire battle plan. What was he thinking anyway?"_

"_That is a question I have asked of myself many times in regards to you," _Kaibara smirked at him. "_Especially during moments like this when I am reminded of what a mischievous child I have."_

Ryo giggled, and Kaibara laughed with him for a moment before clearing his throat and flipping through the pages of the book.

"_Now are you ready to listen?" _Kaibara asked. "_Or do I need to change this into a lesson on pachyderms?"_

Ryo shook his head, a grin still on his face and Kaibara smirked at him again before turning his attention to the book. He proceeded to read and add his own commentary on various notable campaigns of Hannibal while occasionally asking Ryo questions to spark his own thoughts about what he was learning. About an hour later, Kaibara heard Ryo start to snore again, and he knew that that was his cue to stop for the night. He carefully lowered Ryo to lie down, his head resting on Kaibara's lap. He then turned off the lamp next to him and leaned back against the couch. Kaibara stared at night sky outside the window across from him. He could see the faint traces of stars, and he traced together some constellations in his mind while gently tousling Ryo's hair.

'_Soon musuko,' _he told himself. '_Soon you will get your wish, a wish for a normal life away from the battlefield and away from the brutal life of a professional.'_


	18. The Decision-part two

Author's Note: Next chapter. Sadly classes will be starting soon, so I don't know how often I will be able to update at first. But hopefully, it will not be too sporadic.

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

**Erika Chk:** Thank you for the review. :) Yes, I sort of figured that Kaibara would have to be kind of tough to continue working as a professional and a guerrilla even after losing a leg, thus why I wanted to illustrate it here...And as to how Ryo's and Mary's friendship turns out, well we get a sense of what eventually happened when Mary reappears in Ryo's life in about Volume 22/23 of the manga (Season two if you watch the anime). Their relationship always struck me as being more of a friends (possibly briefly with benefits)/sibling type of relationship, and thus the seeds of that are planted in this last chapter. :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this update as well.

Chapter Eighteen—The Decision—part two

"Geez, when you said temporary residence, I thought you meant like a really nice cottage or something," Norester said as he drove the jeep up to the address Matsumura had given them. "This is like a palace."

Kaibara found it hard to disagree with him as he took in the sight in front of him. The house Norester was referring to appeared to have three above ground floors and at least twenty rooms. There was an iron gate surrounding the place, and they could see an elaborate garden that led to what seemed to be a spacious back yard.

"_Oyaji, _who is this guy we are meeting?" Ryo asked. "Is he someone who needs our protection or something?"

"Not exactly," Kaibara told him. He then tapped Ryo's shoulder so he would look at him.

"Listen to me, Ryo," he continued, making sure to look him straight in the eye. "A lot of things are about to happen that I can't explain to you right now. So, I will need you to refrain from asking too many questions and to simply trust me and my judgment. Will you do this?" Ryo nodded slowly at him, his gaze not leaving Kaibara's.

"I will," Ryo said, his tone serious. "I'll always trust you, _oyaji_." A pained expression briefly made its way onto Kaibara's face, but he swiftly suppressed it.

"Good," he said. "And Ryo, feel free to be honest with these people."

Ryo nodded again. He knew that that was the signal from Kaibara that he did not have to act formally as a soldier and could address Kaibara openly as _oyaji_ around them, but he was somewhat curious as to why Kaibara was allowing this around virtual strangers. He did his best to put those questions aside, however, when he remembered how he had just promised to follow Kaibara's lead without a bunch of inquiries into his motives.

Matsumura's car then appeared behind them, and after parking it off to the side, she walked over to meet them.

"So, shall we go inside?" she told them. Kaibara nodded and grabbed Ryo's backpack which contained his civilian clothes along with his weapons and few personal possessions, and handed it to Ryo to carry. The four of them walked up to the gate, and upon seeing Matsumura, the armed guard opened the gate and escorted them into the house.

"_Ah Matsumura-sama, it is good to see you," _the butler said as he waved them inside. "_Shibata-sama is waiting for all of you in the front room."_

"_Thank you, Makihara-san," _Matsumura replied. Kaibara held up a hand.

"Matsumura-san, I'd ask that we switch to Spanish for the benefit of my partner, Norester," he said. "It is important that he is aware of what is going on during all this. Will this be an issue?"

"I suppose not," Matsumura replied. "Please."

Matsumura took off her shoes and put on her house slippers while indicating a group of slippers for guests with a wave of her hand. Kaibara nodded and removed his shoes while Norester shrugged and did the same.

"Um, _oyaji_," Ryo said. "I don't think any of those slippers will fit me."

"It's all right," Kaibara said. "Just remove your shoes anyway. We are in a Japanese home now, and here it would be impolite to walk around with our shoes on."

"Ok," Ryo said as he slipped his tennis shoes off. "Feels kind of weird to walk around this house without shoes though."

"If you will follow me this way," Matsumura said. "Shibata-sama is waiting for us."

They all walked with Matsumura down the hallway and into a large room that was ornately decorated. At the center of the room, an older, barrel-chested man sat on a couch and waved a hand at Matsumura as she walked in.

"_Matsumura, I take it these are the people you wanted me to meet," _he said.

"Yes sir," she replied. "This is Shin Kaibara and Stephen Norester. And the boy with them is…."

"Ryo Saeba," Kaibara said as he guided Ryo to stand in front of him. "Ryo, this man is Shigenobu Shibata."

"Pleased to meet you," Ryo said quietly. Shibata slowly rose from his seat, shock evident in his eyes.

"_This child…it must be him, it must," _he muttered. "_He has the same eyes as my precious Kozue. He must be her son, Ryoichi."_

Ryo stared at him for a long second before looking up at Kaibara, unable to hold back the question that had taken over his thoughts.

"_Oyaji_, what is he talking about?" he asked.

"_O—Oyaji?" _Shibata stammered out, pointing at Kaibara. "_He calls you that? How dare you? How dare you feed him this lie?"_

"_Shibata-sama, please," _Matsumura said, holding up her hands. "_We do not know for sure yet if this child…."_

"_Quiet!" _Shibata barked at her. "_I know that you have to do a bunch of legal maneuvers in order to make things official, but I don't need your reports to figure out the truth here."_

"Shibata-san," Kaibara cut in. "I asked that Matsumura-san switch to Spanish since my partner here does not speak Japanese, and I ask that you grant us the same courtesy. Besides, it is like Matsumura-san said, nothing has been decided yet, so it would be better to keep things neutral for now."

Shibata frowned, a vein throbbing in his forehead, but eventually he nodded and sat back down while waving at a set of chairs across from him.

"All right," he said. "We'll talk."

"Perhaps Ryo could be given a tour of your estate?" Kaibara said. Shibata nodded and snapped his fingers at Makihara.

"Go ahead and show this boy around the grounds," he ordered. "I will let you know when the two of you can rejoin us."

"Sir," Makihara replied with a slight bow.

"_Oyaji, _I…" Ryo started. '

"It's all right, Ryo," Kaibara assured him. "Go ahead and go with this man for now. We will talk more about all this later."

Ryo nodded, confusion and reluctance on his face, as he followed Makihara out of the room. Makihara closed the door behind him, and once they were gone, everyone sat down.

"Why are there two of you anyway?" Shibata asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Matsumura only told me about you, Kaibara."

"Both Norester and I are Ryo's guardians," Kaibara replied. "Thus, I felt it was proper for both of us to be here."

"Guardians?" Shibata snorted. "Apparently it's gone further than that, hasn't it? Why exactly is he calling you, _oyaji_? Does he actually think you're his father? Did you tell him that lie since he doesn't remember his actual parents?"

"While it is true that Ryo does not remember his birth parents, he does know that I am not his biological father," Kaibara replied calmly. "And as to why he refers to me that way, it was his decision entirely. I simply accepted the role he assigned to me."

"How convenient," Shibata frowned. "Taking advantage of a little boy like that. Of course he had no choice but to do what was necessary to make sure that he wouldn't be left to die in the jungle…even if that meant ingratiating himself with a bunch of dirty mercenaries. He was probably too scared to act any other way."

"That's not how it is at all," Norester growled at him. "We've taken care of Ryo for all these years because he's a wonderful kid and because he needed someone after his parents died, not because we had some grand ulterior motive in mind. And we never forced or threatened him into accepting us as his friends and family."

"A likely story," Shibata replied. "You actually expect me to believe that you only had altruistic motives when you dragged him into a village of guerrillas?"

"Shibata-sama, I'm afraid this is getting us nowhere," Matsumura interrupted. "Perhaps it would be better if you told Kaibara-san and Norester-san your story." Shibata glared at all of them for a full minute before collapsing back into the couch and letting out a deep breath.

"As I'm sure you know by now, our family has been in charge of the Shibata Concern for three generations," Shibata said. "My grandfather started our family business from a corner office in a run-down building in Shinjuku, and he and my father built it into the successful enterprise that it is today. My wife and I managed the Concern for over twenty years and had planned to entrust the business to our two sons, Itaro and Sadamitsu, with special considerations given to our daughter, Kozue."

Shibata frowned even more and shook his head.

"Sadly, my sons have not shown much potential in being able to run our family business," he continued. "So, I had hoped that Kozue and whoever she decided to marry would be able to take over as the new heads of the Shibata Concern instead. But then…of all the people she could fall in love with, my precious Kozue fell under the spell of that perverted playboy from the Jinguji family. Frankly, I don't know how he was able to convince my Kozue to marry him, but she was completely devoted to him. The only upside was that he and his father did seem to show a lot of business acumen. But even then, I loathed the idea of obtaining their help in maintaining our business."

Shibata then lowered his head, his expression growing more pensive and saddened.

"That man, her husband, he kept saying that he wanted to go on a vacation with her and their new son," he said. "I wanted them to spend time with me near the coast of Japan, but they…they ended up flying toward the United States instead. And then…you know what happened next."

Everyone nodded and Shibata put his hands on his head.

"You have to understand that Kozue was our darling," he said. "She was such a gentle child, so full of life and such a caring heart. And when she showed me and my wife her baby son…the both of us fell in love with him too. He...he had such a bright smile, a smile that could light up a whole room. Although we only met him a few times before that fateful day, both my wife and I had decided that we would put aside our feelings toward the Jinguji family so we could provide a secure future for Kozue and Ryoichi."

Shibata moved his hands into his lap and gripped them into fists in an effort to stop them from shaking.

"My wife only lived one more year after the crash," he said. "She simply could not bear the grief of losing her beloved daughter and grandson. And I…I just couldn't accept that they were dead, not until I could see the evidence with my own two eyes. I made many inquiries and even traveled here personally to oversee the matter. But the government was purposely obstructive and my attempts to get at the truth were repeatedly thwarted. It was then that I became convinced that there was a possibility that there were actually survivors from the crash, especially when I was able to find out that not all of the bodies were recovered…including my daughter, her husband and my grandson."

Shibata paused and took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. He then looked back up, his stern expression returning to his face.

"I have spent years living both here and in Japan trying to maintain our family's Concern and continue my search," he said. "I brought Matsumura here with me because she is the most intelligent and capable of my legal team in matters of the law and in investigative talents. I intended to keep searching until I either found my daughter or my grandson…or until I found definitive proof that they were dead."

"Based on what you've told us, Kaibara-san, it is possible that our search may have ended," Matsumura said, adjusting her glasses. "The child in your care does bear some resemblance to Ryoichi Jinguji, and it is hard to ignore the coincidences in his background."

"Coincidences be dammed," Shibata spat. "I'm sure that that child is Ryoichi. The only question is how soon you'll be able to verify it."

"Hey, aren't you being more than a little hasty?" Norester said. "It's not like anything has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt yet.

"I'm certain that that is only a matter of time," Shibata replied. "Perhaps another question I should be asking is why you didn't take the time to try to reunite my grandson with his real family in the first place. You probably knew that there was a search for survivors at the crash site and yet you hid this child from the authorities looking for him. I can't help but wonder if the fact that Matsumura made it clear that there could be a substantial reward for information regarding my family had some role in your being here now."

"Shibata-san," Kaibara said, leaning forward. "I've listened to your story, and now it's time for you to listen to me."

Shibata started to frown again, but was startled by the forceful look in Kaibara's eyes.

"When I said that I accepted the role of parent that Ryo had given me, I was completely serious," Kaibara added. "Do not think for one moment that my decision to contact you and bring Ryo here with me today was made casually or purely for some sort of monetary benefit. It was a decision made after careful deliberation on my part and was only achieved because, as Ryo's father, I make his wellbeing and best interests my first imperative. And to answer your question, the reason why Norester and I never reported Ryo's existence to the authorities was for his own protection. After all, you said it yourself: the government was being pointedly vague in their investigations. I am sure it has occurred to you that they might be purposely hiding things as a way to avoid any sort of international scandal. Would you really put it past them to do whatever it took to sweep their culpability in this tragedy out of sight…even if it meant disposing of an innocent child?"

Shibata opened his mouth to respond, but Kaibara's cool, dominant demeanor along with the glare in his eyes was enough to compel him to remain silent.

"Understand this as well," Kaibara said. "Before we walked into your home, I instructed Ryo to act freely and honestly with all of you. If I had not done that, he would have never addressed me as his father nor would he have answered any personal questions you might have for him. The reason why I did that is because I need you to be able to fully appreciate the situation here."

"The only situation I see is whether or not a child will be reunited with his true family," Shibata said. "I fail to see any other considerations."

"And if that is the case, then it would be better for me to leave right now and take Ryo with me," Kaibara replied.

"You bastard," Shibata said. "How dare you threaten to kidnap my grandson right in front of me like that."

"Ryo is not a piece of property," Kaibara said. "If you refuse to acknowledge or care about his thoughts or feelings, I will have no choice but to take him away from here. And I can assure you that I will do whatever is necessary to make sure that you cannot take him away from me by force."

"You…you would do that?" Shibata spluttered. "You would actually hurt that child just so I couldn't….?"

"Of course not, you moron," Norester interrupted with a huff. "He's just warning you that he will disappear with Ryo if you try anything to make him surrender him to you. Didn't you listen when he explained that he is concerned about what's best for Ryo because he's his father?"

"I will never accept that," Shibata replied. "You are not his father, no matter what you say. But…I will concede that we should probably proceed with caution from here on out."

"Good, I am glad to see that you seem to be able to listen to reason," Kaibara said. "Now, I have a suggestion for what we should do next. I suggest that while Matsumura-san makes her inquiries into whether or not Ryo is indeed your grandson that he stays here with you."

"What?!" Norester said, goggling at Kaibara. "Are you serious?"

"However, I do have a pair of conditions," Kaibara continued. "First, I must insist that you do not try to leave this city with him until a final verification of his identity and a mutual agreement is made between us in regards to what is best for Ryo."

"Fair enough," Shibata nodded. "And the second?"

"I ask that you do not address him as Ryoichi Jinguji until we know what the truth actually is," Kaibara said. "For now, I think it would be better to continue to address him as Ryo Saeba since that is who he believes himself to be. In fact, I do not think we should go too much into his possible relation to you until we know more."

"Seems like you want to control a little too much of this whole affair," Shibata sniffed. "How do I know that you won't try something to sabotage my end of things?"

"I make no excuses for wanting to maintain control over the situation," Kaibara replied. "Despite your unwillingness to recognize this fact, Ryo is still my child and my responsibility, and I will not place him in a situation where I cannot ensure and monitor his welfare. And as to your other point, I would have never brought Ryo here if I had had no intention of accepting whatever outcome this investigation could produce."

Kaibara paused and then looked over at Shibata again with the same purposeful glint in his eyes as before.

"If Ryo truly is your grandson, I will accept everything that comes with that result," he said. "I hope that you understand this."

"All right," Shibata sighed. "I agree to your terms. You just make sure to keep to your word as well."

* * *

During this conversation, Makihara walked with Ryo up and down the hallways of the mansion with Makihara letting Ryo check out each of the rooms.

"And here is the library_," _Makihara said with a wave of his hand. Ryo walked in and nodded, his eyes taking in the large number of books on the shelves. He started to glance at the titles and Makihara stood quietly for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Excuse me, Ryo-sama, but do you happen to be able to speak and read Japanese?" he asked.

"_Sure," _Ryo said, switching to Japanese. "_I'm Japanese, and oyaji taught me how to speak, read and write in Japanese along with English and Spanish."_

"_Ah that is good," _Makihara nodded. "_I was hoping that you wouldn't mind conversing in Japanese. I'm afraid that my Spanish is not very good."_

"_It seemed fine to me," _Ryo shrugged. "_But I can talk in Japanese if you want. Oyaji usually tells me to speak in Spanish or English so that Norester and our comrades or the locals can understand us."_

"_Pardon me again, Ryo-sama…."_

"_Why do you keep apologizing to me?" _Ryo asked. "_You can just ask me a question. Oyaji said it was ok for me to talk to you guys. And why do you keep calling me Ryo-sama anyway?"_

"_Given the circumstances, it is better that I address you as such," _Makihara said. "_And if you don't mind me asking, do you normally address your father as oyaji?"_

"_Sure, why?"_

"_Well…you and he are both Japanese, correct?" _Makihara replied. "_It is customary in Japanese society to not address your own father in such a rude way."_

"_Rude?" _Ryo said, his eyes widening in shock.

"_Yes," _Makihara said. "_It is disrespectful to not address your father as otosan or otosama. Hasn't your father ever corrected you in this matter?"_

"_No," _Ryo said as he looked down at his feet. "_He never said anything."_

"_Ah well, perhaps Kaibara-sama has his own reasons for ignoring this breach of etiquette," _Makihara said. "_Please do not worry yourself any further over it."_

Ryo nodded silently in response and the two of them walked back out into the hallway. Even though Makihara had tried to dismiss any concerns, Ryo could not help but continue to ponder what he had said.

'_Was I really being rude and disrespectful all this time by calling him oyaji?' _he wondered. '_I thought that it was ok to call your dad that. Oyaji…he always seemed to like it when I called him that. But maybe I was wrong….'_

Ryo thought about asking Kaibara for his forgiveness the next time he saw him and trying to change his habits, but then he thought again about how Kaibara responded whenever he called him _oyaji_. Often Kaibara would smile, and even when he didn't, there was a hint of a smile in his eyes.

'_Maybe it's like Makihara said…maybe he has a reason for not caring about that,' _Ryo thought to himself. He then decided to make sure to ask him about it at some point once their mission here was finished.

"_Ah Makihara, I'm hungry," _a voice from behind them boomed. "_When's dinner?"_

Both Ryo and Makihara turned to see a pair of men, who appeared to be in their thirties, approaching them. They wore polo shirts and khaki slacks, and both of them had the same smug expression on their faces.

"_I'm sorry, Itaro-sama," _Makihara said with a slight bow. "_But dinner should be ready soon. Right now, I am escorting this young man around the estate."_

"_So, you're the brat that's got him so excited," _the one named Itaro said as he looked over at Ryo. "_I suppose you do sort of look like that idiot Takuya."_

"_Ryo-sama, this is Itaro-sama and Sadamitsu-sama," _Makihara said quickly in an attempt to change the tone of the conversation. "_They are Shibata-sama's sons. Itaro-sama lives here with his wife, Sayaka while Sadamitsu-sama is here with his fiancé, Azusa." _Ryo nodded at both of them, but remained silent, a glare evident in his eyes.

"_Looks like the kid doesn't like us too much," _Itaro laughed. "_What's the matter, kid? Didn't you learn any manners while you were growing up in the jungle?"_

"_Should we really be surprised that he didn't?" _Sadamitsu chuckled. "_After all, he was raised by a bunch of crude mercenaries. I suppose we should be impressed that he can actually understand what we are saying."_

"_Are we sure that he can?" _Itaro said. "_It's unlikely that he learned much beyond how to march while holding a gun in his hands. It's not like he received any sort of real education or could possibly grasp the concepts of culture and society."_

"_Itaro-sama, Sadamitsu-sama, please," _Makihara said, holding up his hands. "_These people are our guests."_ Both Itaro and Sadamitsu laughed again, and Ryo seethed quietly for a full minute before finally taking a deep breath and smirking at them.

"_I can understand both of you just fine," _Ryo said. _"In fact, you just helped me learn something that oyaji has been trying to explain to me for a while."_

"_Oh and just what was your old man trying to tell you?" _Itaro replied.

"_Oyaji said that people with small minds and weak spirits are usually the same people who feel the need to look down upon anyone who aren't just like them," _Ryo grinned at them. "_And now I know that he was talking about people like you." _

Both Itaro's and Sadamitsu's face turned red as they glowered at Ryo.

"_Tch, I still say that otosan is wasting his time with this," _Itaro said before he turned to walk away. Sadamitsu immediately joined him, and Ryo and Makihara waited until they were gone before letting out a pair of sighs.

"_I am truly sorry about that, Ryo-sama," _Makihara said. "_I'm afraid that Itaro-sama and Sadamitsu-sama are not always welcoming to guests."_

"_It's ok, Makihara-san," _Ryo said. "_You don't have to apologize for them. They're just jerks is all."_

"_I suppose that is not a completely unfair assessment," _Makihara muttered.

"_Makihara-san, why do you let them treat you that way anyway?" _Ryo asked. "_Just because you work for their father doesn't mean that you should have to put up with that."_

"_Well I…" _Makihara started. He then paused to cough and then looked over at Ryo with a more serene expression.

"_I have been serving the Shibata family for almost thirty years," _he said. "_I started working for them not long after Shibata-sama was married to his late wife, and I watched his three children, Itaro-sama, Sadamitsu-sama, and Kozue-sama grow up. I suppose you could say that I feel most at home here with them and cannot imagine doing anything else, even if sometimes Itaro-sama and Sadamitsu-sama are less than congenial."_

"_I guess I understand," _Ryo said. "_Is their sister like them?"_

"_Kozue-sama? No, not at all," _Makihara replied. "_She was a kind, giving woman, the type of person who tended to bring out the good in others." _Ryo nodded, a tinge of sadness in his eyes, and Makihara held up a hand.

"_Ryo-sama, what is it? Did something I say upset….?"_

"_No, it's ok," _Ryo said. "_It's just…what you were saying, it sounded like someone I remember from a while ago. Someone who was just like that….but she passed away."_

"_I am sorry to hear that," _Makihara said. "_Sadly, the same is true for Kozue-sama. She passed on about seven years ago…and I know that Shibata-sama still misses her to this day."_

"_Oh, I'm sorry too then," _Ryo said. He then looked down at the floor for a moment before pressing his left foot against the carpet. He then did the same with his right and began to hop about slightly.

"_Ryo-sama?"_

"_Oh sorry," _Ryo said as he put a hand on the back of his head. "_It still feels weird to walk around with just my socks on. And the floor is so soft. It almost feels like I'm bouncing around when I walk."_

Ryo giggled, and Makihara smiled in response. Just then another woman in a maid's uniform walked over and bowed slightly at Ryo.

"Excuse me, Ryo-sama," she said. "Shibata-sama has asked me to escort you to the dining room so you can join everyone for dinner."

* * *

Ryo followed the maid into the dining room and found Kaibara and Norester had saved a place between them. As he sat down, he watched Itaro and Sadamitsu walk in, each of them accompanied by a woman, who Ryo guessed to be Sayaka and Azusa. The last people to enter were Shibata and Matsumura, and once they sat down, both the maid and Makihara began to place the food on the table.

"I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to serve a more traditional Japanese meal tonight in honor of the occasion," Shibata said. "I trust that everything will be to your liking."

"I am sure it will be," Kaibara smiled. "It will be good to have some old favorites from home."

"Ah, it's fine," Norester said. "I'm always up to try something new."

"Me too," Ryo grinned, bobbing his head up and down.

"Ryo, are you saying that you don't remember eating food like this?" Shibata asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well I remember a couple things, like rice porridge, which I don't like and soba noodles, which I do like," Ryo said, placing a finger against his chin. "But it's been so long, I don't really remember much else. So I guess most of it will be new to me just like it will be for Norester."

Ryo laughed a little, but Shibata shook his head.

"How unfortunate for you," he said. "I hope to remedy this for you starting tonight, Ryo."

Ryo blinked in surprise, but did not have long to think about it before food was placed onto his plate. Ryo licked his lips and started to look for the silverware, but was surprised to find a pair of chopsticks sitting beside his plate instead.

"Um, _oyaji_…how do I eat with these?" Ryo said, lifting them up and looking at them quizzically.

"Really? He doesn't even know how to eat with chopsticks?" one of the women said. "What kind of upbringing has he had anyway?" Both Itaro and Sadamitsu chuckled in response to her comment.

Ryo looked down at his plate, his face growing hot. He looked up, however, when Norester nudged his arm.

"Hey, I'm at just as much of a loss as to how to do this as you are, kid," he said sheepishly.

"Ryo, I will show you how to eat with chopsticks," Kaibara said as he put his hands over Ryo's.

"And please allow me to do the same for you, Norester-san," Matsumura smiled at him. Norester grinned in response and nodded. After a couple of minutes of instruction, both Ryo and Norester began to grasp the basics. Soon, Ryo mastered their use enough to be able to shovel food into his mouth at an ever increasing rate.

"Very good, Ryo," Kaibara chuckled at him. "You learned how to use chopsticks quickly."

"Thanks, _oyaji_," Ryo grinned between bites. "And hey, Shibata-san, the food is really good. Thanks for letting me try it."

"Ah you're welcome," Shibata sighed as he looked over at Ryo. Grains of rice and drops of sauce were plastered onto Ryo's face, and he was about to start his third plate of food as he said this.

'_The child seems to have a bottomless pit of a stomach and no table manners whatsoever,' _Shibata thought to himself. '_Probably the result of the uncivilized way he was brought up. Well, I will make sure to fix that as soon as possible.'_

Kaibara noted the way Shibata and the rest of his family were staring at Ryo while he ate, and he frowned as he guessed what they were thinking. While Kaibara was aware that Ryo's table manners were less than pristine, he also observed that Ryo always brought a cheerful mood to mealtimes and would always express his gratitude toward the people who made his food. In his mind, those things were far more important than whether or not Ryo ate in an aesthetically pleasing manner.

After a tense dinner that was spent mostly listening to the Shibata family make small talk amongst themselves, Itaro, Sadamitsu, Sayaka and Azusa left to other parts of the house while Norester, Kaibara, Shibata, Matsumura, and Ryo went back to the front room. Once they were there, Kaibara sat down on the couch and motioned for Ryo to sit next to him.

"Ryo, as of tonight, you will be staying with Shibata-san for a while," he told him.

"Ok, cool," Ryo nodded. "He has a really big house that I wouldn't mind checking out some more. I bet we get our own rooms since this place is so big."

"No Ryo," Kaibara said. "I will not be staying here with you. I will be returning with Norester to his place for now." Ryo's smile immediately vanished, and he looked down at his lap.

"_Oyaji_," he murmured. "I know you said that I couldn't ask a lot of questions, but I…I don't want to stay here by myself. I want to go with you." Kaibara closed his eyes and took a deep breath before reopening them and placing his hands on Ryo's shoulders.

"Ryo, I cannot give you all the details yet, but I can tell you that all of this has to do with finding your family," Kaibara replied. "Your birth family. Shibata-san is working with me and Norester on some leads that might make it possible for you to be reunited with some of them."

"My birth family?" Ryo echoed.

"Yes," Kaibara said. "And if our investigation turns out positively, I am certain that they will be very eager to meet you. But in the meantime, I will need you to stay here with Shibata-san so you will be available to help him on his end of things when necessary."

"All right," Ryo said. "I'll stay."

"Hey kid, don't be like that," Norester said as he ruffled Ryo's hair. "Kaibara and I will be back in a week, tops. And you'll probably be so busy here; the time will fly by before you even realize it."

Ryo shuddered, but did his best to smile back at Norester, and Kaibara could imagine what was going through his son's mind. Other than the time spent as Maceno's captive, Ryo had not spent even one whole day away from both Kaibara and Norester ever since he had survived the plane crash. Thus, Kaibara was not surprised by the anxiety Ryo exhibited toward being left alone in an unfamiliar place.

"Listen _musuko_, you are now at the age when you need to learn to be more independent of me," Kaibara said. "This is a chance for you to gain some of that independence."

Ryo nodded again, and Kaibara noted the way Shibata gritted his teeth at how he referred to Ryo as _musuko_, but he chose not to care.

"Now, I will expect you to continue all your normal routines while you are here," Kaibara said as he patted Ryo's arms. "And I expect you to assist Shibata-san and any of his family members and staff whenever possible."

"I will, I promise," Ryo murmured.

"That is good," Kaibara nodded. "Then I will see you in a week or less." He then started to stand up, but was stopped when Ryo lunged toward him and threw his arms around him.

"It's only a week, right?" Ryo whispered. "Promise me you'll be back." Kaibara embraced him in return and patted his back.

"I promise," he said. "I will return for you no later than that." He then gave Ryo one last squeeze before letting him go and walking over to the door with Norester to put his shoes back on. Ryo, Shibata and Matsumura followed them there.

"See you later, kid," Norester waved at him.

"Bye Norester, _oyaji_," Ryo said as he waved his arm vigorously at them. Kaibara and Norester then walked out the door and Matsumura shut it behind them. Shibata watched this scene play out with a satisfied smile on his face.

'_Just you wait, Kaibara,' _he thought. '_I'm sure that in no time at all, Ryo will never want to leave here. And in the meantime, Matsumura is sure to find proof that this boy is my grandson…and then you will never be able to take him away from me again.'_

* * *

As Norester drove away from the Shibata estate back toward him home, he occasionally glanced over at Kaibara, who had not said a word since exiting the mansion.

"Kaibara, are you sure this is a good idea, leaving Ryo with these people?" he asked. "It doesn't seem like they think all that much of him. And are you sure that you can trust Shibata to keep his word?"

"I am certain of Shibata," Kaibara said. "He strikes me as someone who lives by his word. And as for the rest of it, I remember you saying not too long ago that you weren't going to lecture me on how to take care of my son."

"I haven't forgotten," Norester frowned. "But still…."

"Norester, I have my reasons for the decisions that I have made," Kaibara said. "I ask that you respect them and do not interfere."

Norester frowned even more and turned his attention back toward the road. Kaibara leaned back in the jeep and looked up at the sky.

'_Forgive me, musuko. I'm afraid that I am being less than honest with you.'_

'_And soon there will come a time when I will no longer be able to keep my promises.' _


	19. The Decision-part three

Author's Note: Next chapter. Sorry that I neglected this one for so long, but I hope to get back to it more here in the next few weeks. And no, I haven't forgotten my other fics. In fact, you will be seeing more activity from me today...;)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :D

Chapter Nineteen—The Decision—part three

The next morning, Ryo blinked his eyes several times before yawning and sitting up to stretch. For a few seconds, he felt anxious when he didn't sense Kaibara close by, but then he remembered that he had stayed alone at Shibata's mansion last night, and he managed to calm down.

Ryo yawned again and rubbed his eyes. His sleep the previous night had been an uneasy one as he tried to get used to the large bed and the spacious room that he was given to use while he was here.

'_This room is bigger than our entire hut back at the village,' _he thought to himself. '_Why do people need all this space just to sleep?'_

Ryo bounced a couple of times on his bed before lying back down on his side. He thought about how Shibata seemed friendly albeit a bit forceful as he explained all of the things they would be doing today before showing him his room. Still, something about the way that Shibata looked at him confused Ryo.

'_That look he had, that look in his eyes…sometimes oyaji looks at me the same way,' _Ryo mused. '_When I'm gone for a while and then I come back or when we are talking to each other, oyaji has that look in his eyes. Like he missed me or he's just glad we can spend time together. But why does Shibata have that look? It's not as if we're friends or family or anything like that.' _

Ryo closed his eyes and shoved his face into his pillow. He was determined to keep his promises to Kaibara to mind himself and not be too inquisitive as to what was going on, but the questions continued to pile up in his head as time went on. He tried to quiet his mind, but the more he tried to do it, the louder those questions would become.

Eventually, he let out a giant sigh and rolled over onto his back. Ryo was all too aware that part of the reason why he was having a hard time relaxing was because he already missed his father, Norester and his family, and even the Professor. He remembered how Kaibara had told him that it was time for him to be more independent, but at this moment, Ryo couldn't discern a difference between independence and loneliness.

'_I wish I was back at Norester's place,' _he thought glumly. Ryo then imagined what Kaibara, Norester and the rest of them were probably doing right now, and he recalled how he had also promised Kaibara to continue with all his normal routines while he was here.

Ryo yawned one more time and then pulled himself out of bed. He scratched his head as he grabbed a set of clothes from his bag and walked over to the bathroom attached to his room.

'_I might as well get started now,' _he told himself. '_Cause Shibata is probably going to make me start on all that stuff he was talking about as soon as he gets up.'_

* * *

An hour later, Makihara went up to Ryo's room to ask him to come down to the dining room for breakfast and was surprised to find no one there. He searched the room and knocked on the bathroom door before going back out into the hallway and putting a hand to his chin. He then lowered his hand and bowed slightly when he saw Shibata walking up the stairs toward him.

"_Makihara, have you woken Ryo up yet?" _Shibata asked. "_I wanted to talk to him while we went downstairs for breakfast."_

"_I am sorry, Shibata-sama, but Ryo-sama does not appear to be in his room," _Makihara replied.

"_What? Where is he?" _Shibata demanded. "_Find him at once." _

"_Yes sir," _Makihara said with a bow. He then strode quickly down the stairs as Matsumura walked up toward Shibata.

"_Good morning, Shibata-sama," _she greeted him with a bow. "_I hope you are well. And how is Ryo-chan doing this morning?"_

"_Matsumura, Ryo is missing from his room," _Shibata replied, his tone terse. "_You don't suppose Kaibara came back here last night and snatched him away, do you?"_

"_Sir, I know that officially, Kaibara-san is considered an enemy of the government and a criminal," _Matsumura said. "_But everything I have learned about him in my investigations indicates that he is not the type of man who goes back on his word and is certainly not the type of person who would kidnap a child."_

"_He might not see it as kidnapping," _Shibata snorted. "_You heard him here yesterday. He's got this delusion that he's Ryo's actual father…and he's brainwashed that boy into believing it as well. It's certainly not outside the realm of possibility that he might feel like his control over Ryo is being threatened by this opportunity for Ryo to spend time in a safer, more enriching environment with his real family."_

"_With all due respect, Shibata-sama, I don't think so," _Matsumura said. "_Kaibara-san does seem to genuinely want what is best for this child. And in case you were wondering, so far, he has turned down every offer of financial compensation for returning Ryo to us."_

"_Of course he has," _Shibata said. "_He's waiting for you to gather the proof we need to confirm that this boy is Jinguji Ryoichi. Then, I'm sure we will see his true colors come out."_

Matsumura was about to say something else in response when the sound of screeching from down the hallway caught both her and Shibata's attention. The two of them moved swiftly toward the source of the yelling to find Itaro's wife, Sayaka pointing at a window next to her.

"_What…what is he doing outside my bedroom window?" _she gasped.

"_What are you talking about?" _Shibata asked as he and Matsumura moved closer. His question was answered a second later, however, when they looked at the window to see Ryo grinning and waving at him from the outside.

"_Hi, Shibata-san, Matsumura-san," _Ryo yelled at them through the glass. Shibata goggled at him for a second before opening the window.

"_Ryo, what are you doing?" _Shibata asked him. "_Get off that ledge and in here right now."_

"_Oh sure," _Ryo smiled as he swung his arms and jumped into the room. "_Wow, I'm really hungry now. Is breakfast ready yet?"_

"_Ryo, answer my question," _Shibata replied. "_What were you doing on that window ledge?"_

"_Training," _Ryo replied. "_Every day, oyaji has me do all sorts of exercises so I stay in shape and then he has me find all kinds of challenges so I can practice using the skills he and Norester taught me. This house is so big and has so many ledges; I thought that it would be a great chance to try out my climbing skills."_

"_But Ryo-chan, this floor is several feet off the ground," _Matsumura said. "_If you had fallen, you could have been hurt."_

"_Nah, that wouldn't have happened," _Ryo grinned at her. "_I've climbed up much more difficult places than this, places that were a lot higher that that too. I just did this for fun and to practice."_

"_He was staring at me while I was starting to take off my nightgown," _Sayaka snapped while still pointing at him.

"_Ah, sorry about that," _Ryo said as he blushed and put a hand to the back of his head. "_I didn't realize that this was someone's bedroom. I didn't mean to make you mad. It's just…."_

"_Just what?" _Sayaka frowned at him.

"_I thought you were pretty," _Ryo said his face still red. "_I never saw a woman like you or Matsumura-san before I came here, and I…I guess I'm still getting used to it. Sorry."_

A sad smile made its way onto Matsumura's lips as she realized the truth behind Ryo's words.

'_That's right. He probably hasn't spent any time around people who are Japanese like him, other than Kaibara-san,' _she thought to herself. '_It must be more than a little strange for him to not be one of the outsiders for a change. And I'm sure it has not been easy growing up here.'_

"_Hmph, that doesn't give you the right to stare at me," _Sayaka said before storming out of the room. Shibata sighed and watched her leave before turning back toward Ryo.

"_Ryo, I ask that you do not climb around on the house anymore," _he said.

"_Ah, ok, sorry," _Ryo said. "_I promise not to do that again." _Ryo started to walk out of the room, but Shibata held out a hand to stop him.

"_Ryo, you don't have to do things like this anymore," _Shibata said. "_Not while you are here. _

"_What do you mean?" _Ryo asked.

"_I mean that you don't have to follow that man's orders anymore," _Shibata told him. "_You don't have to put yourself through things like this. You're free now, free to do what you want to do. Free to be a child. Do you understand?"_

Ryo stared at Shibata for almost a full minute, his gaze quizzical and intense, before he began to grin again.

"_It's ok, Shibata-san," _he said with a laugh. "_I actually like training. And besides, it's important for the work oyaji and I do. I'll try to make sure not to bother you guys while I do it from now on."_

Ryo dashed out of the room toward the stairwell, and Shibata looked over at Matsumura with another frown on his face.

"_You see now?" _he asked her. "_You see what that man has done to him? That poor child thinks that he has to go through this regimen even when he's not in fighting to survive in the jungle, a regimen designed to make him into another one of those mercenaries. This is not the sort of life a child should have to endure. And it is certainly not the sort of life my grandson is going to endure any longer, I can assure you of that."_

Shibata marched out of the room to find Ryo and lead him to the dining room, and Matsumura sighed and followed him a moment later.

* * *

After an animated breakfast, which was highlighted by Ryo polishing off multiple plates of food while simultaneously horrifying the maid and the cook with his voracious appetite, Shibata asked Ryo to allow a doctor he had flown in from Japan to examine him and to spend time with the family's private tutor.

Almost three hours later, the doctor came to Shibata's study to discuss his findings with Shibata and Matsumura while the tutor assessed Ryo.

"_Well, I can assure you that this child is quite healthy," _the doctor said. "_In fact, his physical condition is above average for a child his age. He is very athletic and dexterous, has absolutely no chronic ailments and appears to be well fed and cared for. Still…."_

"_Yes?" _Shibata said, leaning forward in his chair.

"_There is evidence that he has endured some harsh treatment in the past," _the doctor continued. "_Most notable is a scar on his upper chest which appears to have come from a knife with a jagged edge. And from what I could tell, that happened only a few months ago."_

"_Someone used a knife on him?" _Shibata croaked out, his eyes growing wide.

"_Sadly, it does appear so, yes," _the doctor nodded gravely. "_Also, I found a smaller scar on his lower abdomen which I am certain is an old bullet wound and it appears as if his left arm might have been fractured at one point."_

"_And yet you say he is all right now?" _Shibata asked him.

"_Currently, he does have a couple of bruises, but from what he told me about his daily activities, those are probably just the result of childish misadventure," _the doctor added. "_Otherwise, he is fine except for being a little sleep deprived. I suspect he hasn't been sleeping as soundly as he should for the last couple of days and I would suggest that you find some ways to help him get more rest."_

"_Thank you, sensei," _Shibata nodded again before the doctor bowed and left the room. Shibata frowned and turned toward Matsumura.

"_So, do you still think that I am wrong to think that Ryo should remain here as opposed to going back with that man?" _he said. "_That child, my grandson, is only ten years old and yet he has already been shot, stabbed and had his bones broken. Who knows what other tortures he has had to endure? It's not safe for him to leave here."_

"_Shibata-sama, again, we don't know for sure yet if he…."_

"_Listen, Matsumura," _he interrupted. "_You do not have children, so you don't know anything about the instincts of a parent. I can see my daughter, Kozue, in that boy's eyes and I can hear her usual cheer in his voice. And his smile…it's the exact same one that he had when he was an infant. I'm telling you that he is my grandson, Ryoichi. I have no doubt about it."_

Shibata leaned back in his chair and softened his expression.

"_Matsumura, please don't think that I lack any respect for your position," _he continued. _"I know that you have to consider things from a legal perspective and have to work with evidence that can hold up in a courtroom. I just want you to understand that my belief that Ryo is my grandson is not just part of an errant wish to be reunited with my family. Trust me, I do not make this assertion lightly and I wouldn't be making it at all if I wasn't thoroughly convinced that it was true."_

"_I understand," _Matsumura nodded. "_And I do believe you when you say that you aren't being capricious about this. In all the years that I have helped you with this search, I've never known you to blindly place your faith in every shred of hope that comes along."_

"_Then I hope you also understand why it's so important to me that we find a way to protect Ryo," _Shibata said. "_I just cannot bear the idea of my precious Kozue's son living such a horrible life with people who only see him as another mercenary to train or another guerrilla to fight for their cause."_

There was a knock at the door and seconds later, the tutor walked in, adjusting his glasses as he moved toward the desk.

"_You assessed Ryo's knowledge and intelligence, did you not?" _Shibata asked him. "_What can you tell me?"_

"_I can honestly say that he is a fascinating child," _the tutor said as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He took off his glasses and wiped them for a moment before placing them back on his face and continuing.

"_From what I was able to gather, Ryo has had no formal education whatsoever," _he said. "_He says that his father teaches him everything that is not related to combat or self-defense."_

"_You mean he's never attended school?" _Shibata asked. "_He's completely uneducated?"_

"_While he has never actually gone to school, he is far from uneducated and that is the fascinating part," _the tutor replied. "_For example, Ryo is actually able to speak Spanish, English and Japanese with about equal fluency. And, he is able to read and write in all three languages as well although, truth be told, he does have quite sloppy handwriting."_

"_You mean, he actually knows how to read and write in Japanese and not just speak it?" _Matsumura asked.

"_Correct," _the tutor said. "_In fact, he is slightly ahead of where he should be at his age as far as knowing kanji and integrating them into his writing."_

"_What about other things?" _Shibata asked. "_Like math or history?"_

"_Ryo has a firm understanding of the basics of math and the potential to learn. He just does not have any experience with the higher forms of it," _the tutor answered. _ "The same can be said of his knowledge of science although he does have some practical knowledge, specifically when it relates to weaponry or medical uses, along with a casual interest in astronomy. As far as things like history, culture or literature go, it seems as if his learning has been mostly unsystematic. He has some broad knowledge of the history and culture of Japan and of countries around this part of the world along with an extensive knowledge of military history. He also has read some literature and has at least a passing appreciation for the arts. But again, it's hit or miss as far as what he has learned in these areas as opposed to having a more comprehensive knowledge." _

The tutor paused and fidgeted with his handkerchief, a smile appearing on his face.

"_I can say this with certainty," _he said. "_Whoever taught him was thoughtful and conscientious in his teaching. Ryo knows a lot of things, some of which might seem quite esoteric, but more importantly, he is able to use this knowledge to solve all sorts of problems. He is not just intelligent; he is also a skilled critical and strategic thinker, and I would consider it to be an exhilarating challenge to help him participate in formal studies."_

"_Thank you," _Shibata said. "_That will be all for now."_

The tutor nodded and strolled out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"_Interesting," _Matsumura said. "_It sounds like there is more to Kaibara-san than what is apparent on the surface."_

"_So Kaibara is intelligent," _Shibata replied. "_I was able to figure that out just by meeting him. But I don't see why that is of any importance."_

"_Yes, but apparently he's also made sure to educate Ryo-chan as much as possible within the confines created by his profession," _Matsumura said. "_That does not strike me as someone who is only cares about how well Ryo-chan performs on the battlefield."_

"_Matsumura, before we proceed any further, I need to know where your loyalties are," _Shibata said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"_Sir?"_

"_Are you committed to helping me get my grandson back?" _he asked her. "_Or are you going to continue to find ways to excuse what this man has put Ryo through?"_

Matsumura turned her back to Shibata and was quiet for a full minute before responding.

"_Shibata-sama, my commitment to you and your family has not changed from the day I started to work for you," _she said. "_I promise you that I am completely devoted to doing what is best for you and for Ryo-chan."_

"_Good," _Shibata nodded. "_Now please excuse me, I have some work that I need to attend to before lunch, which I plan on spending with my grandson."_

Matsumura nodded in response and slowly left the room. As she walked down the hallways, she thought again about everything she had heard from both the doctor and the tutor.

'_Shibata isn't wrong in thinking that Ryo has had a hard life up to this point,' _she mused. '_The fact that he lost his parents the way he did is proof enough of that. And then when you add in where and how he has had to live for these past few years….'_

Matsumura shook her head as she walked outside toward the gardens. Eventually she stopped to sit on a stone bench in front of a patch of flowers and she let out a long sigh. As much as she agreed with Shibata about the need to protect Ryo, she could not get what she had heard from the tutor or the memory of how Ryo interacted with Kaibara out of her mind.

'_Ryo is definitely fond of Kaibara,' _she thought. '_And it seems as if Kaibara has made some kind of commitment to him as well and not just to train him to be a guerrilla or a professional.' _

Matsumura leaned back and closed her eyes, but was startled by the faint sound of a gunshot. She leapt to her feet and ran over to the source of the sound to find Ryo standing in front of a line of paper targets with a gun in his hand.

"_Ryo-chan! What are you doing?" _Matsumura gasped, her hand hovering near her mouth. Ryo lowered his gun and turned to look at her with a smile on his face.

"_Hi Matsumura-san," _he said while waving at her. "_I'm just doing some more training. I put a silencer on my gun, but I guess it still bothered you, huh?" _Matsumura marched over to him and placed a hand on his arm.

"_Ryo-chan, what are you thinking, playing with guns like this?" _she said. "_This isn't a toy."_

"_I know that," _he replied. "_Don't worry. I've been handling guns since I was a really little kid. Oyaji made sure to train me so that I would know what I was doing." _

"_You mean Kaibara-san taught you to use a gun when you were still very young and that you've had to use them for much of your life?" _Matsumura asked.

"_Yeah," _Ryo said as he pulled some more bullets from his jeans pocket. "_He's the best shot in the entire village, and Norester says that oyaji is probably one of the best in the entire country. Oyaji says that, one day, I might be even better than him, but I'm not sure if he's right about that or not."_

Matsumura stared at Ryo as he opened up the cylinder of his Magnum and let the empty shells drop to the ground. He then started to reload, and she couldn't help but notice how effortless both actions appeared to be for him.

'_It's as if he's done this hundreds of times and doesn't even have to think about it anymore,' _she pondered. '_Doesn't even have to think about loading or using a gun.' _She then cleared her throat and tried to smile.

"_It does seem a little strange," _she said. "_A man like Kaibara-san fighting for so many years for a country that is not his native one and for a cause that he is an outsider to. Tell me, Ryo-chan, is Kaibara-san hoping that you will help further the resistance movement in the future? Is that why he's training you to be a guerrilla?"_

"_Nah," _Ryo chuckled as he snapped the cylinder on his Magnum shut. "_Oyaji taught me to use a gun so I could protect myself because he has a lot of enemies who might try to go after me because of him and because the government doesn't like anyone who helps the resistance. But being a guerrilla isn't going to be oyaji's job forever. He's just doing this as part of his work."_

"_Oh? So what is Kaibara-san's true profession, Ryo-chan?" _Matsumura asked him. Ryo's smile faded and he turned back toward the targets across from him.

"_Oyaji's work is to protect and help the good people who need help," _he said his voice solemn. "_And to punish the bad people who want to hurt others and to sweep them away if he needs to." _

Ryo tightened his grip on his gun and raised it up toward the targets.

"_And when I grow up," _he continued. "_That is the work I am going to do too."_

Ryo then fired one bullet after another, each one hitting close to the center of one of the targets in the line. Matsumura was awestruck at both the skill he demonstrated and the complete seriousness she heard in his voice. A part of her was slightly horrified at the implications of what he said and the fact that he seemed eager to work in the same profession as Kaibara, but another small part of her couldn't help but be impressed at how dedicated he was to helping others and at the proficiency he showed at shooting.

Once he was done, Ryo stared at the results and finally started to grin again.

"_I should keep these," _he said as he walked over to gather the paper targets. "_Oyaji will want to see what kind of progress I've made while I'm here and this is a lot better than the last time I practiced with him."_

Ryo spent a couple of minutes grabbing the targets and picking up the empty shells from the ground before walking back toward the house. Matsumura followed him and after he finished throwing the shells into a waste basket, she offered to help carry the targets to his room.

"_Thanks Matsumura-san," _he said. "_You're a lot nicer than a lot of the people around here."_

"_That is very kind of you to say about me, but I am I'm sorry that you feel that way, Ryo-chan," _she said. "_What about Shibata-sama? Isn't he nice to you? Do you get along with him?"_

"_Yeah, he seems ok," _Ryo shrugged. "_He just seems, I don't know, kind of pushy sometimes. He says stuff and it's like everyone around here has to hang on his every word."_

"_Shibata-sama is in charge of a large concern that is based in Tokyo and he is considered to be the head of his family," _Matsumura said. "_His position sometimes makes it necessary to be very assertive with other people."_

Ryo opened the door to his room and Matsumura walked inside and sat the targets down onto a desk sitting nearby one of the windows. She then pulled back one of the curtains and looked out over the gardens below.

"_But I can also tell you that after working for many years for Shibata-sama, that he is far more than just his usual blustery demeanor," _she added. _ "He is a good man, Ryo-chan, who cares deeply for his family and who wants to build a prosperous future for all of them. I hope that you can keep that in mind while you are staying here with us." _

"_You like him, don't you?" _Ryo grinned at her. His grin increased when he saw her face turn slightly red.

"_In a manner of speaking, yes," _she stammered. Ryo giggled, and Matsumura blushed even more, but could not stop herself from smiling back at him.

The laughter stopped when the door flew open and Itaro burst into the room.

"_You," _he spluttered while pointing at Ryo. "_I heard about how you tried to peek at my wife while she was dressing."_

"_I'm sorry," _Ryo said his expression contrite. "_I was just training. I didn't mean…." _Ryo's words were quickly cut off when Itaro stomped over to him and slapped him across the face.

"_You little monster," _Itaro raged at him. "_How dare you ogle my wife like that? Maybe otosan chose not to punish you for that, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to let that pass."_

"_Itaro-sama, please," _Matsumura said. "_It wasn't like that at all. Ryo-chan did not mean any harm, and he made sure to apologize to Sayaka-san already."_

"_You stay out of this," _Itaro snarled at her. "_Right now, it's time for me to teach this little brat a lesson."_

Itaro slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand and moved closer to Ryo. Ryo narrowed his eyes at him while crouching down, preparing himself for a fight. Before anyone could do anything, however, Matsumura rushed over and put herself between Ryo and Itaro, her arms stretched out on either side.

"_Itaro-sama, Ryo-chan has apologized to you and to your wife and has promised not to do it again," _she said firmly. "_That should be enough to satisfy the both of you. So now I'm asking you to leave this child alone."_

"_Get out of the way, Matsumura," _Itaro growled at her. "_Or I'll move you myself."_

"_No," _Matsumura replied. "_You may be one of the top members of the Concern, but, as I am sure you are aware, I only answer to your father. You are welcome, of course, to discuss my conduct in this situation with him, but I believe that we both know what the end result of that will be." _

Itaro glared at her for another minute before spinning on his heel and storming out of the room.

"_This isn't over," _he spat as he walked out into the hallway. He then slammed the door, and seconds later, Matsumura let out a sigh and lowered her arms.

"_Matsumura-san, I'm sorry that I got you in trouble," _Ryo mumbled from behind her. Matsumura shook her head and turned to face Ryo.

"_It's all right, Ryo-chan," _she said. "_You didn't get me in trouble. If Itaro-sama tries to make trouble, I know that Shibata-sama will support my actions. Besides, someone needs to remind Itaro-sama once in a while that he does not have the right to act like a bully."_

Ryo nodded, his gazed fixed onto the floor, and Matsumura patted his shoulder. A moment later there was a knock at the door, and both of them looked over to see Makihara open it and walk inside.

"_Excuse me, Matsumura-sama, Ryo-sama," _he said with a slight bow. "_But lunch is ready, and Shibata-sama was requesting that Ryo-sama join him."_

"_All right, thank you, Makihara," _Matsumura said. "_Ryo-chan will be down shortly." _

Makihara bowed again and exited the room. Matsumura looked back over at Ryo, and when she saw his dejected expression, she crouched down and placed her hand on his shoulder again.

"_Ryo-chan, please don't be sad," _she told him. "_I promise you that no one is going to get in trouble. Itaro-sama has a temper, but incidents with him don't tend to last too long. This will probably all blow over by the end of the day. So go ahead and enjoy your lunch with Shibata-sama. I know for a fact that he has been looking forward to this."_

"_Will you come with me?" _he asked.

"_I'm sorry, but no," _Matsumura said. "_I have some work I need to attend to, so I probably won't be free until dinner. But thank you for asking me."_

Matsumura started to stand back up, but stopped when Ryo motioned at her. Puzzled, she moved closer to him and was shocked when Ryo leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"_Ryo-chan?" _Matsumura said, placing her hand on her cheek where he had kissed her.

"_I just wanted to thank you for being so nice to me," _Ryo said with a shy smile. "_And I, well…you're actually even prettier than Sayaka-san is."_

Ryo dashed over to the door and turned to wave before going out into the hallway.

"_I'll see you later," _he said. "_Bye." _He then ran toward the stairwell, and Matsumura followed to watch him bound down the stairs. As she watched him head toward the dining room, another smile appeared on her lips.

'_Ryo-chan…It's little wonder why Shibata-sama wants to spend so much time around you. I imagine he is already taken with your charm as well.'_

'_I just hope that this all turns out for the best…for all of us.'_


	20. The Decision-part four

Author's Note: Next chapter. At this point, I honestly do not know for sure how long this fic will be. I suppose when I am getting close to the end, I'll let my readers know. ;) In the meantime, I hope they enjoy the rest of it.

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated.

**Eve: **Thank you for the review as always. Yes, despite the constant danger, hardships and unconventional situation Ryo had living with Kaibara, you do get the sense in the manga that theirs was a caring, familial relationship that it was a large part of why Ryo was able to cope with growing up under those conditions. Thus, it would be complicated for Ryo if he were given the chance to go back to his birth family. But, I have often gotten the sense that Ryo's deep-seated disdain toward wealthy people and his disgust over greedy relatives might have had a root in his own life experiences. And as you will see in this chapter, that plot is about to thicken. ;) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

Chapter Twenty—The Decision—part four

Matsumura's prediction proved to be correct as the rest of Ryo's day turned out to be an uneventful one.

Ryo had lunch with Shibata, and most of that time was spent with Ryo eating while he listened to Shibata talk about some of the plans he had for the next few days, both for himself and for the two of them.

After that, Shibata explained that he would be working for the rest of the evening, and Ryo was left to find things to do on his own. Wanting to avoid Itaro, Sayaka, and the rest of Shibata's relatives, Ryo decided on staying outside for much of the rest of the day and ended up alternating between training and wandering around the grounds by himself. Eventually, Makihara came outside to find him and let him know that dinner had been served.

"_That's ok," _Ryo told him. "_I'm not really that hungry. Thanks for letting me know."_

"_Ryo-sama, I hope you will not think I am being presumptuous when I say that I heard about the incident with Itaro-sama earlier today," _Makihara said. "_And that I hope that that is not influencing your decision not to have dinner. Shibata-sama had specifically asked the cook to make sure to prepare some more Japanese dishes for you to try tonight."_

"_Ah, I'm sorry," _Ryo said, looking down at the ground. "_I'm sorry Shibata-san went to all that trouble…."_

"_Ryo-sama, might I offer a solution?" _Makihara replied. _"The staff often tends to eat in the kitchen once the meals are served, and I see no reason why we couldn't set aside a table for you to eat there as well. That way, you would not have to join everyone in the dining room. Would that be acceptable?"_

"_Thanks, Makihara-san," _Ryo said as he finally started to smile. "_That would be great."_

Makihara gave him a slight smile in return and escorted him to the back areas of the kitchen while he prepared a place for Ryo to eat. A few minutes later, Ryo was guided over to a small table with a couple of chairs in a corner of the kitchen, and he was surprised to find Matsumura sitting in one of them, a smile on her face.

"_Good evening, Ryo-chan," _she said. "_I thought you might like some company seeing as how Shibata-sama wasn't able to join you."_

"_Sure," _Ryo grinned at her. "_I'd really like that."_

"_Good," _Matsumura said. "_Now, perhaps this evening you could tell me more about some of the adventures you've had."_

Ryo settled in the chair across from her, and as they ate, he shared with her several stories about the places he had seen and some of the people he had met as a result of his work within the resistance. Sometimes, Matsumura was disturbed at the amount of danger Ryo had had to face at such a young age, but for the most part, she noted that Ryo seemed upbeat and eager to talk about his experiences.

"_It sounds like you've had a very interesting life," _she told him toward the end of their meal. "_Although I'm sure there have been plenty of hard times too."_

"_Yeah, I guess," _Ryo shrugged as he poked at the remnants of food on his plate. "_There has been a lot of bad stuff too…but oyaji says that that's how life tends to be no matter what you do. And that the best you can do is try to make the good things outnumber the bad ones while making sure you aren't adding to the bad stuff."_

"_Kaibara-san seems to be a wise man," _Matsumura said.

"_That's what my friend, the Professor says, and the Professor is really smart too," _Ryo nodded. "_I think Norester thinks the same thing, but he'd never say that to oyaji. He and oyaji like to pick on each other all the time, but the Professor says that's their way of being friends."_

"_They have been partners for a long time, I take it," _Matsumura replied.

"_Yeah, even before I met them," _Ryo said. "_I know a lot of people don't get why they are partners, but that's just because they don't know them very well. After all, they are the best professionals in the village."_

"_I would wager that a lot of people might not know or understand Kaibara-san very well."_

"_You're right, they don't," _Ryo said. "_Oyaji doesn't talk a lot to very many people, and a lot of people are afraid of him or just don't want anything to do with him. They all think he's this scary demon who will kill anyone who does the least little thing to make him mad and that he's always angry and in a bad mood."_

"_But that's not how it is," _Matsumura said as she leaned toward Ryo. "_Is it?"_

"_Nah, oyaji's not like that at all," _Ryo giggled. _"Matsumura-san…you're a lawyer, right? So, if I tell you a secret, you can't tell anyone?"_

"_Of course," _Matsumura assured him. "_Ryo-chan, if you need to tell me a secret, you are welcome to do it. And don't worry. As long as it doesn't involve anyone getting hurt, no one, including Shibata-sama, has to know about it."_

"_Ok then," _Ryo smiled. "_The truth is oyaji is just quiet is all. I mean, he does get mad sometimes and sometimes he has to punish bad people and fight against the government…but actually, he likes to do all kinds of quiet stuff like to listen to music, look at the stars, and read all kinds of books. Sometimes, when we're alone or at Norester's place, I try to make him laugh just so he'll stop being so quiet and serious for a while."_

"_And does it work?" _Matsumura asked, intrigued.

"_Yeah, usually," _Ryo giggled again. "_Even when I'm just being silly, I can usually get him to smile."_

"_I imagine that you could get almost anyone to smile, Ryo-chan," _Matsumura beamed at him. _"And I am sure that Kaibara-san appreciates your efforts."_

"_Yeah, that's something else the Professor said too," _Ryo said. "_That sometimes oyaji needs that kind of thing, although, I'm not really sure what the big deal is."_

Ryo picked some more at the rest of the food on his plate, his expression becoming more thoughtful. He then scooped it up with his chopsticks and shoved it into his mouth all at once. When he was finished he sat the chopsticks on the table and looked down into his lap.

"_Oyaji does so much stuff for me," _he continued. "_He's always taking care of me, training me, and protecting me. Compared to all that, what I do is really small."_

Matsumura's expression grew somber as she reached across the table and placed her hand onto one of Ryo's, causing him to look up at her.

"_Ryo-chan, I don't know Kaibara-san as well as you do," _she said. "_But I can assure you that bringing smiles and laughter to a person's life and making them feel loved and respected are not small things. Not at all. In fact, those are among the most important and valuable things in any person's life."_

Matsumura patted Ryo's hand and then moved it away. She took a long sip of water and leaned back in her chair as she looked off into the distance.

"_I understand this first hand because I have seen it for myself here while working for Shibata-sama," _she said. "_You see, Shibata-sama's daughter, Kozue-sama, did the same sort of thing as you. She had a bubbly personality and could always pull a smile out of Shibata-sama, no matter how stressful his life became. She dearly loved her parents, and the smiles she produced and the love she had in her heart were both treasured by Shibata-sama. I, myself, only knew her personally for a short while before she left us, but I remember how much cheer surrounded her. Even Itaro-sama and Sadmutsu-sama were not immune to that cheer."_

"_Shibata-sama…he really misses her, doesn't he?" _Ryo asked.

"_Yes he does," _Matsumura said quietly. _It's always very hard for a parent to lose a child, but losing a child like Kozue-sama…sadly that just seems to make it even worse."_

Ryo nodded while Matsumura sipped at her water again. The two of them sat in silence for a couple more minutes before Matsumura let out a sigh and stood up from the table.

"_I have some things to attend to before I can go to bed tonight," _she said. "_So I hope you'll excuse me, and that you will have a good night."_

"_Thanks, Matsumura-san," _Ryo smiled at her. "_For having dinner with me…and for everything else."_

"_You're welcome, Ryo-chan," _she said. "_I will see you tomorrow."_

Matsumura bowed slightly and walked out of the kitchen while Ryo sat and watched her leave. He stared at the doorway she went through for a few minutes, his chin resting on his hand, until Makihara walked up behind him and cleared his throat.

"_Was there something else I could get for you, Ryo-sama?" _he asked. "_Or perhaps you would like me to show you to your bed?" _Ryo sighed and got up from his chair.

"_Nah, that's ok, Makihara-san," _he said. "_I remember where my room is. I think I'll just head off to bed. Thanks anyway, and hey, thanks for dinner."_

"_You are very welcome, Ryo-sama," _Makihara smiled as he bowed. "_I hope you have pleasant dreams."_

Ryo nodded at him and slowly strolled out of the kitchen and into the hallway. After checking to make sure no one was around, he climbed the stairs up to his room and shuffled inside, making sure to shut the door behind him. Ryo then threw himself onto the bed and crossed his arms behind his head. He turned over slightly toward the window and saw that it was dark outside. As he stared at the night sky, he wondered if Kaibara was also gazing at the same sky as him.

'_Good night, oyaji….Please come back soon.'_

* * *

Over at Norester's place, everyone was seated at the table, quietly eating dinner. Norester and Sophie tried to keep the mood light by discussing the latest rumors they had heard about friends and fellow professionals who they were acquainted with and by asking Mary about her day, but the tension in the room continued to persist.

A large portion of this tension was due to a twin source of silence at the table: the silence that came from Ryo's absence, and the silence that Kaibara maintained while he ate.

Earlier that day, Kaibara had kept his appointment with his doctor, and the moment he got back to Norester's house, he went off by himself to train and did not appear again until Sophie began to look for him to tell him that dinner was ready. Both Norester and Sophie had noticed the subdued, withdrawn behavior that Kaibara had adopted ever since he had left Ryo with Shibata, but neither of them dared to address it aloud.

As dinner drew to a close, Norester noticed that Mary kept staring at Kaibara with an angry glint in her eyes. He tried to distract Mary more than once by drawing her into his conversation with Sophie, but Mary continued to watch Kaibara carefully as he ate with the same stony gaze.

At one point, Sophie stood up and mentioned that she was going to bring out dessert, and it was then that Mary slammed her palm against the table and leapt up from her chair.

"I hate you," she spat, pointing a finger at Kaibara. Kaibara looked up from his plate, surprised, but remained silent.

"Mary!" Sophie gasped.

"Mary, what do you think you're doing?" Norester said his voice stern. "You don't go around saying things like that to guests in our home, especially when they are like family to us. Apologize to Kaibara. Now."

"No, Papa, I won't," Mary pouted. "It's his fault that Ryo went away and won't be coming back." Mary got up and moved to stand in next to Kaibara, and Kaibara swiveled in his chair to face her.

"Papa said that you love Ryo more than anything else in the world," Mary continued. "So why did you send him away? Why don't you want him anymore? Ryo told me that you two are each other's family. Families don't throw each other away. I know my mom and dad would never throw me away. So why? Why don't you love Ryo anymore?"

Kaibara stared at Mary silently for a moment before slowly standing up and turning away from her. He took a couple steps before stopping and pausing, his back still turned toward her.

"Mary," he said in a soft, controlled tone. "I know that nothing I could possibly say will answer your questions, so I will not bother with explanations. I will say, however, that I hope you will never have to choose between holding onto the people closest to your heart and doing what is necessary to save their lives. If you are ever unfortunate enough to face this choice…perhaps then you will have your questions answered."

Kaibara then walked out of the room, and seconds later, Norester could hear the sound of the front door opening and then closing. Norester let out a sigh and then turned his attention toward his daughter.

"Mary," he said. "You had no right to say things like that to Kaibara."

"But Papa…."

"Do you have any idea how many times Kaibara saved my life when we were out on the battlefield?" Norester cut in. "I imagine you don't because, honestly, I've lost track of it myself. Any time I or your mother needed anything, he was always there to help us. This family owes him a huge debt."

Norester motioned for Mary to walk over to him, and she complied, her head down and her face red.

"As for Ryo…don't you remember the reason why Kaibara is staying with us in the first place?" he continued. "He's here learning how to live with just one leg because of how much he loves Ryo and because Kaibara is willing to do anything for him."

"Then why doesn't he want Ryo around anymore?" Mary mumbled. "Is he mad at Ryo because he lost his leg?"

"No, of course not," Norester said. "It's just…It's complicated. The people Ryo is staying with, these people may be Ryo's birth family. It wouldn't be fair to Ryo to not give him a chance to be with his family any more than it wouldn't be fair if you couldn't be with me and your mother. Besides, you heard Kaibara just said. He's doing this partially so he can keep Ryo safe."

"But Papa, you and Ryo said that Kaibara is Ryo's dad," Mary said. "It's not fair to take his dad away either, is it? And, and you do dangerous stuff too, right? But you're not sending me away to keep me safe, and you said that Kaibara is as good as you at being a pro. So why can't he keep Ryo safe like you keep me and Mama safe?"

"Mary," Norester sighed again while shaking his head.

"I know that if I was taken away from you and Mama, I'd be really sad," Mary murmured. "And I bet Ryo is sad now that he can't see his dad anymore."

Unable to stay mad at his daughter, Norester pulled her close and held her in his lap. Mary rested her head against his shoulder, and he thought about how his daughter had a point when it came to what was fair for Ryo and was probably right about how he could be feeling.

"Papa…I'm sorry," she added. "And I'll tell Kaibara I'm sorry too. I promise. I just…I miss Ryo." Norester squeezed her close to him and looked up to see Sophie's eyes shine with unshed tears.

"We all miss him Mary," he said as he held her tight. "All of us."

* * *

Meanwhile, Kaibara sat down on the ground and leaned back to study the moon and stars above him. The truth was, he hadn't been able to get mad at Mary for what she said, not really, and only a part of that was because he understood that she was a child who was missing her friend.

'_Families don't throw each other away.'_

Kaibara frowned and stared even more intently at the sky. He wondered if that was how his son might be seeing things, if Ryo thought that his father was tossing him aside because he had grown bored with him or was tired of the responsibility of taking care of him.

'_Does Ryo have some of the same anger Mary has?' _he thought. '_Does he think that I have betrayed him in some way?'_

Kaibara shook his head and leaned back to lie on the ground, crossing his arms behind his head. Much like with Mary, Kaibara knew that he could not let any anger that Ryo might possibly have toward him affect him. He also could not allow his own feelings, desires, and needs get in the way of his ability to make the correct decisions involving Ryo's best interests.

Still, as much as he tried to squelch any emotions that could conflict with his reason, Kaibara found that those emotions continued to churn inside of him. He could shift his focus away from them for a while by training or practicing things like his gunmanship skills, but he could not get rid of them. They continued to fester inside of him, and Kaibara sensed that they were seeking some sort of outlet, thus why he often was plagued by nightmares and a persistent desire to seek solace in a bottle or on the battlefield.

Kaibara glanced back at Norester's house, and he could see the shadows of his partner and his family moving around inside. He thought about how Norester was probably getting ready to read Mary a bedtime story and how Sophie would be preparing to spend the night in her husband's arms, and all of this produced a surge in the loneliness and isolation he felt in this moment.

The moment soon passed, however, and Kaibara was able to regain his tight control over such feelings. He went back to gazing at the sky and searching for his favorite constellations.

'_Ryo was never really mine to claim, and I should not have let him become so attached to me in the first place,' _he told himself_. 'He already had a family when I met him, a family that has been waiting for him to return for all these years. I should not have confused him by making him think that I was replacing the parents he had lost. Instead, I should have prepared to return him to where he belonged and only trained him to the extent he would need to survive until that moment came.'_

Kaibara let out another sigh and closed his eyes. All of this seemed sound and logical, and it certainly fit into what he believed to be the best course of action at this point. But he could not escape the fact that something at the back of his mind was nagging at him, some thought or feeling that he was refusing to allow into his awareness.

Irritated, Kaibara worked on ignoring whatever it was that was trying to surface into his conscious thoughts. He knew that this was not the time to allow intrusive and possibly obstructive ideas into his mind. He needed to make sure that nothing interfered with his plan to give Ryo the life and the future he deserved.

'_My commitment and my role in Ryo's life are almost over,' _he thought. '_All that remains is this last step to ensure his security and his happiness. It's time for me to stop thinking of him in terms of myself and from within a role he was never meant to have.'_

Kaibara reopened his eyes and went back to studying the stars. He wondered if Ryo was enjoying his time at Shibata's mansion and he figured that by this time, Ryo was getting ready to rest for the night.

'_Good night, Ryo…Sleep well and enjoy the day ahead of you.'_

* * *

The next morning, after eating breakfast and spending some time shopping in town, Sayaka and Azusa changed into their swimsuits and went outside to swim in the pool behind the mansion.

"_Ugh, what is with that kid that Shibata-san is so fascinated with these days?" _Azusa said with a toss of her head. "_Did you see him at breakfast today? I didn't think he was ever going to stop eating."_

"_Are we sure that he hasn't?" _Sayaka giggled. "_For all we know, he's back in the kitchen, trying to get Makihara to give him more food."_

"_True, true, I hadn't thought of that," _Azusa smirked back. "_Does Shibata-san really think that that kid is Kozue-san's missing child?"_

"_Itaro is pretty sure that otosan is convinced," _Sayaka nodded. "_It's all he seems to think about anymore. It's really become tedious, how much he focuses on it."_

"_Men get fixated on all the wrong things," _Azusa replied. "_I know Sadamutsu is all uptight about how Shibata-san might be considering him for a promotion within the Concern. I mean, I don't know what he's so worried about. After all, eventually Shibata-san is going to hand over the Concern to Itaro and Sadamutsu anyway. It's just a matter of time."_

"_It is. But you know how those two are," _Sayaka replied.

"_Oh well, at least we can ignore them for a while out here," _Azusa said. "_Let's just enjoy ourselves and let them stew over their own problems for a while."_

Both Sayaka and Azusa laughed and nodded in agreement as they approached the pool. They had sat their towels down next to the ladder leading down into the pool and were about to dive in together when a large splash of water emanating from the bottom washed over both of them. Both Sayaka and Azusa covered their faces but were unable to avoid being drenched.

"_Hi Sayaka-san, Azusa-san."_

Sayaka and Azusa moved their hands away from their eyes in response to find Ryo leaning against the edge of the pool, grinning at them.

"_You decided to go swimming too, huh?" _he beamed at them. "_I can't blame you. It's lots of fun and the water is nice and warm. Come on and jump in."_

"_Ryo, what do you think you're doing, splashing us?" _Sayaka frowned at him. "_That was really rude."_

"_Rude? Why?" _Ryo replied, puzzled. "_Weren't you two about to hop in and get wet anyway? I just wanted to help you start having fun."_

"_Maybe we don't consider running around with a kid having fun," _Azusa replied. "_Besides, I'm sure Shibata-san will be looking for you any time now. Why don't you go find him first?"_

"_Yeah, you're probably right," _Ryo shrugged. "_Shibata-san did say something about taking care of some stuff for me today. I probably should get going."_

Ryo shook his head and hoisted himself up onto the edge of the pool. As he stood up, Sayaka and Azusa were shocked to discover that Ryo had chosen to go swimming without any swimwear. The both of them shrieked at him while Ryo raised both eyebrows in surprise. Seconds later, Shibata-sama appeared, and he put a hand onto his face.

"_Ryo," _he sighed. "_What is going on here?"_

"_I don't know,"_ Ryo shrugged again. "_I was just getting out of the pool and suddenly they started yelling. What's with them anyway?"_

Shibata grabbed one of the towels off the ground and draped it around Ryo.

"_Ryo, I don't know what you are accustomed to in the jungle," _he said as he covered him. "_But around here you do not go swimming naked. Do you understand?"_

_Oh, sorry about that," _Ryo smiled sheepishly. _"I guess I'm used to swimming with oyaji and Norester, and we never wore clothes while we did it. And I didn't have anything to wear in the pool anyway."_

"_Don't worry, I will take care of that today," _Shibata smiled at him. "_The two of us are going on a shopping trip and I will be buying you some things I think you need and that you might enjoy."_

"_Thanks, but you don't have to," _Ryo replied. "_I mean, you're already letting me stay here as your guest. Shouldn't I be doing stuff for you?"_

"_It's no bother, Ryo," _Shibata said, his smile growing wider. _"I want you to be happy here. So now, go on inside and get dressed so we can get going."_

"_Ok, and thanks again," _Ryo nodded.

"_Now maybe we can have some peace," _Azusa muttered.

"_Oh, Azusa, your ring," _Sayaka said, pointing at Azusa's hand. "_You forgot to take it off."_

"_Ah, my diamond," _Azusa gasped. "_I better take it off and put it in my purse. Ugh, why is it so hard to take off?"_

Azusa tugged at it several times when suddenly it popped off her finger and sailed through the air into the pool.

"_Oh no, that's my engagement ring," _Azusa cried. "_If it falls into one of the vents, I'll never get it back."_

Both Sayaka and Azusa started to head toward the pool, but Ryo was faster. He dropped the towel that was wrapped around him, and dived in, quickly slipping down to the bottom. He scanned the floor of the pool for a few seconds before spying a sparkle of light that was heading toward a vent in one of the corners. Ryo immediately swam toward it and snatched it up before it could fall in. He then surfaced and hopped out of the pool.

"_I got it," _he said triumphantly. "_Here you go."_

He held it out to Azusa, who blushed and slowly took it from Ryo's outstretched palm.

"_Thank you," _she mumbled.

"_Ah no problem," _Ryo smiled at her. "_I'm just glad I was able to catch it. So don't be upset now, ok?"_

Azusa nodded and looked away without saying a word. Ryo was about to ask her what was wrong when Shibata cleared his throat loudly. Ryo looked over to see him holding up the towel he had discarded.

"_Ryo…quit walking around naked," _Shibata said with another sigh. _"Put this towel back on and get dressed."_

* * *

Three hours later, Ryo was back at the mansion wandering around the hallways. Earlier, Shibata had taken him into town and had bought him a new wardrobe that included swim trunks and house slippers for him to wear inside. He then bought Ryo a stack of toys and games to play with, and once they were home, Shibata had a box full of books and comics from Japan brought into his room.

"_I hope you like these," _Shibata told him. "_I know that we don't have a lot here to amuse a young boy like you, but hopefully this will make up for that."_

Ryo had made sure to thank him, but privately, he still felt confused by the fact that Shibata seemed to go out of his way to do things for him. He flipped through a couple of the volumes of manga and ended up reading and laughing for about an hour before he became restless and decided to explore the mansion some more.

He had only been walking around for a few minutes before Makihara walked up to him and bowed.

"_Hi Makihara-san, how are you doing?" _Ryo smiled at him.

"_I am well, thank you for asking, Ryo-sama," _Makihara replied. "_I'm here to tell you that lunch has been served and that Shibata-sama is waiting for you in the dining room."_

"_Thanks," _Ryo said as he bounced down the stairwell. "_See you later."_

Once he reached the foot of the stairs, Ryo strolled over to the dining room and was surprised to find Shibata sitting by himself with some cups, small dishes and square-looking bowls sitting in front of him.

"_Ah Ryo, come join me," _Shibata said. "_I have a special treat here for us."_

"_What is it?" _Ryo grinned as he sat down across from Shibata. "_Hey, isn't that….?"_

"_That's right, it's one of your old favorites, soba noodles," _Shibata said. "_I'll have you know that they happen to be one of my favorite dishes too, so occasionally, I have them brought over here from Japan, and my cook has learned the basics of preparing them."_

"_What's all this other stuff?" _Ryo asked, pointing to the cups of broth.

"_Well Ryo, I thought that I would introduce you to one of my favorite ways to eat soba," _Shibata answered. "_This is called zaru. You pick the noodles up with your chopsticks and dip them into this broth before eating them. Watch me."_

Shibata picked up his chopsticks, scooped up some noodles and then swished them about in one of the cups. He then slurped them into his mouth.

"_Ah, so good," _he smiled. "_Now, go ahead and try it."_

Ryo nodded and mimicked what he had seen Shibata do. As soon as the noodles were in his mouth, a huge grin appeared on Ryo's face.

"_Wow, this is really good," _he said as he chewed. At first, Shibata let out another sigh at Ryo's persistent bad manners, but then he couldn't help but chuckle at little at his enthusiastic response.

"_I'm glad you like it," _Shibata said. "_And don't worry. I instructed the cook to make a lot of this, so you don't need to worry about running out before you are full."_

Ryo gulped down what was in his mouth and laughed at Shibata's words, and soon Shibata joined in. The two of them then ate plate after plate in silence.

It wasn't until Ryo had finished with his fifth plate that he looked up and started to stare at something. Shibata noted his actions and turned to see that Ryo was staring at a framed picture that was sitting on a stand nearby. He smiled, stood up, picked up the picture so he could bring it closer to Ryo.

"_Is this what you were looking at, Ryo?" _Shibata asked.

"_Yeah, sorry…I didn't mean to stare," _Ryo mumbled, looking down at his plate.

"_It's quite all right," _Shibata smiled at him. "_This is a picture of my daughter, Kozue. Here she is with her husband, Jinguji Takuya, and the baby in her arms is her son, Ryoichi."_

"_Your daughter…she passed away, didn't she?" _Ryo said softly. Shibata gripped the frame with trembling hands for a moment before answering.

"_Yes…yes she did," _he said. "_I lost her about seven years ago."_

"_What about her husband and her son?" _Ryo asked him.

"_They…my daughter, her husband and her young son were taking a trip to the United States together," _Shibata said. "_The plane…the plane they were on crashed. The officials said that there were no survivors. I never even got the chance to bury my daughter."_

"_I'm sorry," _Ryo said, his voice a whisper.

"_Still…a part of me holds onto this hope," _Shibata continued. "_I keep hoping that maybe those officials were wrong. That maybe there were survivors…maybe even just one, like maybe my grandson. I know that it might be a foolish wish, but I…I guess I can't let it go."_

Shibata closed his eyes and bowed his head as he continued to grip the photo. A moment later he reopened them when he felt Ryo touch his arm.

"_It's ok," _Ryo told him. "_Sometimes…sometimes we can't let people go who were in our hearts, even when they are gone. And that's not always bad, at least that's what oyaji says."_

Ryo moved his hand and went back to staring at the picture in Shibata's hands.

"_Oyaji says that sometimes, people leave a trace in our hearts, and once that happens, they'll always be a part of us," _he added. "_Even though it hurts when they are gone, that part will still be there."_

"_Ryo…."_

"_Shibata-san, your daughter really loved her husband, didn't she?" _Ryo said.

"_What makes you say that?" _Shibata asked him.

"_It's just…she looks so happy here," _Ryo said. "_So does he. I wonder if that baby was happy too."_

Ryo stared at the picture for a moment more before sitting it down and holding up his plate.

"_I'm still hungry," _he smiled. "_Can I have some more?"_

"_Oh, of course," _Shibata smiled back. "_Have as much as you like."_

Ryo cheered as the maid brought out another helping of noodles, and Shibata's smile deepened at the sight.

'_Ryo…are you starting to remember your true parents? Your true family?' _Shibata thought to himself. '_Could it be that you're starting to remember who you really are and that you're starting to see through the lie that man fed you for all these years?'_

As he watched Ryo slurp down some more noodles, Shibata felt his resolve strengthen to do what was necessary to make his grandson a part of his life again…and to prepare a comfortable, secure future for him.

* * *

Off in the distance, Itaro and Sadamutsu watched Shibata's reactions to Ryo with irritation and disgust on their faces along with more than a touch of jealousy.

"_Look at how otosan dotes on that brat," _Sadamutsu grumbled. "_The kid barely has a grasp on how to act civilized and yet otosan treats him like a treasured member of the family."_

"_Sadamutsu, what if otosan is right about this?" _Itaro frowned. "_What if that kid really is Jinguji Ryoichi?"_

"_So what if he is?" _Sadamutsu snorted. Itaro responded by smacking his brother in the back of the head.

"_Idiot, if he really is Kozue's son, otosan's probably going to want to make him a member of the Concern," _he hissed. "_In fact, you know how otosan is always criticizing us and how we run things. He might even think about waiting until the kid gets older and handing the whole thing over to him…and then we'd actually have to answer to that brat."_

"_What, you really think he'll do that?" _Sadamutsu said.

"_He might," _Itaro replied. "_Unless we do something about it…like getting that brat out of the way. Thing is, we can't make it obvious. If otosan finds out, he'll never forgive us."_

"_Yeah, but there are ways around that," _Sadamutsu said with a smirk. "_For example, say, if something were added to that kid's food. Not all at once, of course, but just little doses here and there. Over time, it could lead to a very ordinary looking illness and a very sudden and unfortunate event that could happen to any child."_

"_Yes," _Itaro nodded. "_That's a clever and efficient way to think of things. Do you think you could bring such possibilities to fruition?"_

"_Don't worry," _Sadamutsu assured him. "_I know some people who could get me what I need. Just leave this to me."_

Itaro nodded again and went back to watching Shibata and Ryo eat, the frown growing deeper and his eyes beginning to glimmer with hatred.

'_I can't let this brat take away everything I've spent my entire life waiting for,' _he told himself. '_And I won't. I swear, no matter what it takes, I won't let it happen.'_


	21. The Decision-part five

Author's Note: Next chapter. I am so sorry that I have neglected my stories for so long. Classes this semester have been really challenging and my brain has been exhausted more than once. But I hope to (slowly) get back on track over the next month or so. In the meantime, I hope my readers enjoy this update and the one-shot I will post later this evening/night to celebrate Ryo's birthday today. :)

Oh and be warned, this is my longest chapter yet. ;)

I do not own City Hunter or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who is reading/following/reviewing this. It is always appreciated. :D

**Eve: **Thank you for the review as always. :) Yes, I figured both sides (Ryo's and Kaibara's) of this story would be needed simply because it might look easy to a lot of people for Kaibara to give Ryo up, but I doubt that it would have been at all, no matter how much he might want to keep Ryo safe. And yes, one thing that Hojo made very clear during the brief time Kaibara appeared in the manga was the strong bond that existed between Kaibara and Ryo, a bond that wasn't completely broken by Kaibara's madness, his betraying Ryo, and even Kaibara's death (as evidenced by how he and Ryo were still able to communicate with each other after he died). I could only imagine such an unbreakable bond existing between a father and son rather than with someone who just trained Ryo or simply acted as a caretaker when he was a kid. Expect to see more of his perspective on this before this section is over...As for the innocence you mentioned, yeah I could easily see that being an integral part of who Ryo was as a kid...partially because I think he still has a little of that in him as an adult. He just often hides it away behind his perverted nature or behind his serious professional side, simply because his work and the tragic relationships he has had in the past won't let him expose his heart and his innocence that way. But I think you can still see it once in a while, like when he interacts with kids or in the way he seems to love it when Kaori is somewhat maternal toward him. :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this update and my one-shot later today.

Chapter Twenty-One—The Decision—part five

Several hours later, Ryo ate dinner with Shibata and Matsumura along with Shibata's family. Although Sayaka and Azusa were acting somewhat more congenial toward him, Ryo was wary of sharing a table with Itaro and Sadamutsu and made sure to sit between Shibata and Matsumura. He was pleasantly surprised, however, when neither Itaro nor Sadamutsu appeared to be angry with him. In fact, for the most part they remained blandly pleasant with him and did not resort to their usual disdain while interacting with him.

'_Maybe it's like Matsumura said,' _Ryo thought. '_Maybe they're getting used to me and maybe Itaro is over being angry with me.'_

Still, something about Itaro's demeanor in particular made Ryo feel uneasy and he couldn't shake it no matter how much he tried to convince himself that he should give Itaro a second chance. But when he noticed how comfortable everyone else at the table seemed to be, Ryo decided that it would be better to keep these thoughts and feelings to himself. As a result, while dinner was enjoyable overall, Ryo was still apprehensive over his current living situation.

This apprehension was punctuated by a slight feeling of nausea he had for a short while after eating which Ryo figured was probably due to worrying too much during dinner. It passed after a short while, but Ryo could not stop thinking about it.

'_Norester is always telling me that it's no good to focus on your worries while you eat,' _he told himself. '_If oyaji was here, he'd tell me to relax and concentrate on the present and what needs to be done in the future instead of dwelling on old fears and fears about stuff that hasn't even happened yet or might not ever happen at all.'_

Thoughts of his father brought forth a wave of melancholy. Shibata continued to shower him with presents and plan all kinds of activities for them to do, but none of it could make up for something that Ryo felt was missing, something more than just his father's presence and something that he couldn't put his finger on.

Ryo walked down the hallways of the mansion and thought about seeing what Makihara was doing when he happened to meet up with Shibata and Matsumura.

"_Ah there you are, Ryo," _Shibata smiled at him. "_I hope you enjoyed dinner." _

"_Dinner was great, thank you," _Ryo nodded, making sure to smile back. "_Your cook always makes good food."_

"_Well that's why he works for me," _Shibata replied with a laugh. "_Because he is such a skilled chef. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that Matsumura and I are taking a short business trip tonight and we won't be back until tomorrow afternoon."_ Ryo started to feel his smile fade, but he forced himself to not let it disappear.

"_Oh ok," _he said. "_I hope you and Matsumura-san enjoy your trip."_

"_It's not really going to be the fun kind of trip, Ryo, but thank you for that," _Shibata said. "_And do not worry. When I get back, I will be sure to make up for my absence."_

"_If you need anything while we are gone, just let Makihara know and he will take care of it," _Matsumura added.

"_Thank you," _Ryo said.

"_Ryo-chan?" _Matsumura said. "_Is there something you need now? Maybe something Shibata-sama and I could take care of before we leave?"_

"_No, it's ok," _Ryo said, shaking his head. "_I'm just a little tired is all. I think I'll go read in my room. Oyaji will be disappointed when he comes back if I haven't learned anything despite having all these books around all the time. See you later."_

Ryo waved at them and bounded up the stairs toward his room. Once he was out of sight, Matsumura frowned and Shibata raised an eyebrow in response.

"_Is something bothering you?" _he asked her.

"_Shibata-sama, doesn't Ryo seem a little subdued to you?" _she asked. "_During dinner and just now, he really did not seem like his usual cheerful self, don't you think?"_

"_I didn't think so, no," _Shibata said. "_Seems to me he was as carefree and lively as ever given how much he ate at dinner and the way he was smiling while we were talking to him a moment ago."_

"_True, he did look happy," _Matsumura said. "_But sometimes…sometimes I wonder if Ryo really is happy or if he is just putting on a show for our benefit."_

"_Of course he is happy," _Shibata sighed. "_Why wouldn't he be? He doesn't have to worry about fighting to stay alive in the jungle and being under the thumb of some mercenary who is forcing him into such a horrendous lifestyle. Here, he is safe and can live like any other child. He can learn, he can play and he knows that he can have anything he wants just by asking for it. What possible reason could he have to not be happy in the midst of all this?"_

"_That is reasonable yes," _Matsumura said. "_But with all due respect, I still think that…."_

"_Matsumura, I know that you are worried about Ryo," _Shibata said. "_And quite honestly, I am glad that you are so sensitive to his moods and concerned about his welfare. But I also think that those concerns are leading you astray. Ryo is probably just trying to get used to the idea of being free from that man's control and is maybe a little scared that all this might get taken away from him. But given time, I am certain that you will see what is best for Ryo as he adjusts to his new life and begins to fully grasp the future I intend to create for him. You will see that Ryo's place is with us…and eventually, Ryo will understand and believe that too."_

Matsumura wanted to say more, but remained silent. She could tell by Shibata's tone had that he was in no mood to listen to any opposition, no matter who it came from or how reasonable it might be. While it was true that she continued to understand why Shibata was making the efforts he was to integrate Ryo into his family, Matsumura found herself increasingly conflicted as to what the truth really was.

Shibata headed for the study, and Matsumura followed him. She thought about the paperwork she had requested from her operatives in Japan to further her investigation into Ryo's true identity, but instead of the eagerness she originally had to receive them and make progress, Matsumura could not rid herself of a newly developed feeling of dread. Some of that dread was worry that Shibata might be wrong and the despair and disappointment that were sure to follow.

Just as much of that dread, however, was now over the possibility that Shibata might be right about Ryo…and the consequences that could create for all of them.

* * *

Up in his room, Ryo finished reading a few chapters in a book of Japanese history he had found in the stack Shibata gave him and sat it down on his night stand. His eyelids had grown heavy and after yawning again for the umpteenth time, Ryo had to admit that he was simply too tired to continue reading even though he was becoming increasingly interested in the book.

'_Maybe I can read a bunch more tomorrow after training,' _he told himself. '_That Warring States stuff looked like the kind of thing oyaji would want to talk about. I'd better be ready to answer questions about it when I tell him about it.'_

Ryo yawned yet again and turned out the lamp beside his bed before burying himself under his covers. He wasn't sure why he was so tired tonight, but he was finding it all too easy to close his eyes and drift off to sleep the moment his head touched the pillow.

'_Guess I trained harder today than I thought,' _he thought as he fell asleep. '_Maybe I'll ease up a little tomorrow so I can do some extra studying.'_

* * *

About three hours later, Itaro was finishing a glass of brandy in his father's study, smiling as he sat the glass down on the desk next to him. Before dinner, Sadamutsu had told him that he had managed to get a small supply of poison from a man in town, and Itaro had made sure to sprinkle a dose of it onto Ryo's plate while the staff wasn't looking. After the meal was served, Itaro noted that Ryo ate heartily while showing no signs of noticing anything different about his food. By that point, Itaro felt confident of his and his brother's plan and thus, he had no problems maintaining a relaxed, easygoing front around the others. He was even able to muster up some niceties to use on Ryo and had laughed inwardly at how easy it had been to fool him.

'_And here I thought he'd be so cautious about people given his upbringing,' _Itaro said to himself. '_I guess all the stories about how Kaibara is this legendary professional were mostly exaggerations. That or he didn't bother passing on any of his skills or knowledge to that kid. Who knows what he was thinking in the first place, saddling himself with a burden like that brat.'_

Itaro leaned back in his chair, a smug smile on his face, and reached over to pour himself another glass of brandy. He couldn't deny that he still felt a little squeamish about murdering a child, but the more he thought about what he could lose, the easier it became to convince himself that he did not have a choice in the matter. He sipped at his second glass of brandy and let the alcohol slowly numb his nerves.

'_Besides, I just don't believe it anyway,' _Itaro thought, his smile suddenly disappearing. '_I can't believe that this kid is Kozue's son. Otosan is so desperate for anything that could bring some part of Kozue back, he'll even latch onto the idea that this unruly brat is his grandson. But I'm not buying it, no matter what otosan thinks or what Kaibara might try to say.'_

'_And I'm certainly not going to allow some misguided dream of otosan's get in the way of me and my wife's future.'_

Once he was done, he stood up and started to walk up the stairs toward his bedroom. He stopped, however, when he heard a faint cry come from Ryo's room. He moved closer to the door and as he did, he heard the cries grow louder and more urgent. Seconds later, Makihara appeared in the hallway.

"_Itaro-sama, what is it?" _Makihara asked him. "_It sounds like it's coming from Ryo-sama's room. Is he all right?"_

"_How should I know?" _Itaro shrugged. "_I just got here myself." _Makihara shook his head and reached for the door knob.

"_He must have locked his door," _Makihara said as he struggled with the knob. "_And Shibata-sama is the only one who has the master key."_

"_Don't you have a key?" _Itaro scowled.

"_Not to this particular room, no sir," _Makihara said. "_Shibata-sama felt that some rooms should be afforded a certain amount of privacy. It's the same reason why I do not have a key to your room or Sadamutsu-sama's room. Itaro-sama, we have to do something. Ryo-sama could be in trouble."_

Itaro sighed and moved closer to the door. He didn't actually want to get involved, but he figured that it would be suspicious if he did nothing and considered the possibility that whatever was happening in Ryo's room could pose a threat to the rest of the mansion. He braced his arms together and motioned to Makihara to help him break the door down. The two of them pushed against it three times before it finally gave way, and they stumbled into the room.

They then found Ryo lying in bed, thrashing under his covers, his eyes closed. Both Itaro and Makihara walked closer to the bed and were surprised when Ryo did not wake up.

"_Ah, poor Ryo-sama, he must be having a nightmare," _Makihara said, shaking his head. He started to lean down to put a hand on his shoulder, but Itaro beat him to it.

"_Hey, hey wake up," _Itaro said as he grabbed Ryo's shoulder and shook it.

Seconds after he started to do this, however, both Makihara and Itaro were shocked when Ryo's eyes opened and he grabbed Itaro's wrist. Ryo then deftly jumped out of bed, sweeping Itaro's legs out from under him as he did so while twisting Itaro's arm behind his back. Ryo rolled to the floor next to Itaro and sat up to push his knee into Itaro's back when he suddenly stopped and blinked hard.

"_Huh? Itaro-san, is that you?" _Ryo said, continuing to blink his eyes. Ryo let Itaro go, and Itaro winced and turned over so he could sit up.

"_Of course it's me," _Itaro grumbled at him while rubbing his arm. "_Who else would it be?"_

Ryo was about to respond when Sadamutsu, Sayaka, and Azusa all appeared in the doorway.

"_What's going on?" _Sayaka said as she walked over to Itaro. "_We heard someone crying out and…."_

"_I'll tell you what happened," _Itaro snarled. "_I was trying to wake that little monster from a nightmare and he attacked me."_

"_What?" _Sayaka said as she knelt down next to her husband. She then looked over at Ryo and narrowed her eyes.

"_Why?" _she spat. "_Why did you do that?"_

"_I…I'm sorry," _Ryo spluttered out. "_I didn't mean to do it. It's just…."_

"_Just what?" _Sayaka shot back.

"_Oyaji trained me to do that," _Ryo said, lowering his gaze to the carpet.

"_What, he trained you to attack people in your sleep?" _Azusa huffed.

"_No," _Ryo mumbled. "_Not all the time. Just if they tried to touch me while I'm sleeping. Oyaji trained me to defend myself and to not wait to wake up all the way or see who it was when I did it. He said it would keep me safe."_

"_Apparently he didn't care about anyone else's safety when he did that," _Azusa frowned at him. "_Don't you realize that you could have really hurt Itaro?"_

"_Ha, you have to admit, it is a little funny, onisan," _Sadamutsu chuckled. "_That kid taking you down like that. Maybe you should ask his dad to teach you how to defend yourself against this brat."_

"_That's not funny, Sadamutsu," _Sayaka said. "_Quite frankly, I don't think I'll feel safe with that kid sleeping here. What if he has another nightmare or decides to go wandering around the mansion at night? Who knows who he'll 'accidentally' attack next." _

"_You're right, he shouldn't sleep here, especially now with the door broken," _Azusa nodded. "_He should sleep somewhere away from the rest of us so this won't happen again."_

"_We could move him to that one room on the third floor," _Itaro replied. "_That way if he has another bad dream, he won't disturb us, and we won't have to worry about him bothering us if he ends up doing anything else while he's still asleep."_

"_But Itaro-sama, that room has never been properly prepared for guests," _Makihara said. "_I can't imagine that it would be very suitable for Ryo-sama."_

"_It's got a bed, doesn't it?" _Itaro said. "_And a bathroom attached to it. It's not like he'll be sleeping in a closet. Besides, he's probably been sleeping in much worse places for years. I don't see how making him sleep away from us is going to be so horrible for him…but it will make the rest of us feel a lot better."_

Makihara looked stricken as he glanced back down on Ryo, who continued to avert his eyes from the rest of them.

"_Ryo-sama," _Makihara said. "_I am truly sorry. But I…."_

"_It's all right, Makihara-san," _Ryo mumbled. "_I'll go ahead and change rooms. It's no big deal."_

Makihara let out a deep sigh and nodded. Itaro, Sayaka, Sadamutsu and Azusa left the room while Makihara gathered up as many of the books Shibata had given Ryo as he could carry. Ryo grabbed his knapsack and stuffed it with the things he had brought with him and followed Makihara up the stairs to a cramped hallway. They walked toward the end of the corridor, and once there, Makihara pulled out his keys and unlocked the door in front of him. He opened the door and turned on the light, flinching at the thin coating of dust and at sparse, uninviting appearance of the room.

"_I apologize," _Makihara said. "_This room has not been used in a long time. Perhaps I could talk to Itaro-sama and see if maybe he would consider…."_

"_Nah, don't worry about it," _Ryo assured him as he walked into the room. "_I'll be fine. It's just a place to sleep. It's not like I'll be here all the time."_

Ryo dumped his bag onto the floor and plopped down on the bed. A cloud of dust puffed up from the sheets, and Ryo coughed for a moment while it dissipated.

"_Ryo-sama, this will not do for you at all," _Makihara said firmly. "_Let me offer you my room. Granted, it is not as good as the room you were given upon your arrival, but I can assure you that it is clean and more than adequate."_

"_No, Makihara-san, I couldn't do that," _Ryo insisted. "_It's my fault that the door to my old room was wrecked. You shouldn't have to give up your room for me. This place will be ok. Actually, the bed is nice and soft and, I didn't really like all that extra space in my old room anyway."_

"_As you wish," _Makihara said with another sigh. "_At least let me help you make this room a little more pleasant."_

Makihara pulled the sheets off the bed and shook the dust out of them. He then remade the bed and wiped away some additional dust around the room while Ryo put a few of his things away. Once Makihara was done, Ryo climbed into bed and was surprised when Makihara carefully tucked him under the covers.

"_Good night Ryo-sama," _Makihara said, patting the blankets near Ryo's shoulder. "_I hope you have pleasant dreams for the rest of the night."_

"_Thank you," _Ryo said, blushing slightly. "_But you didn't have to do that." _Makihara cleared his throat and placed his hands at his sides.

"_I beg your pardon, Ryo-sama," _he said. "_I did not mean to embarrass you. And I know that it is not my place to say this, but…."_

"_What is it?" _Ryo asked.

"_It's just…for a moment there, you reminded me very much of Kozue-sama," _Makihara continued. "_When she was a girl, there nights when Shibata-sama was away on business, and her sleep would be disturbed by some bad dreams. On those nights, I would bring her something warm to drink and escort her back to bed. I made sure she was comfortable, not entirely unlike I did with you just now, and then I would wish her a good night. Kozue-sama…she would always smile and blush just as you did just now when I helped her into bed."_

Makihara paused and backed away from the bed, moving closer to the lamp on the stand nearby.

"_I always found it unfortunate when Kozue-sama had to endure those nightmares," _he added. "_But I must admit that her smile and her kind cheer at my attempts to help her sleep again were always welcome. If you do not mind me saying this, Ryo-sama, your smile reminds me very much of hers."_

"_It's ok," _Ryo said. "_It seems like Kozue-san was a really nice person, so thanks for saying that."_

Makihara nodded and turned off the lamp. He then started to walk out of the room, but a sound from Ryo made him hesitate near the doorway.

"_Good night, Makihara-san," _Ryo called out to him. "_And I…I'm sorry for all the trouble I keep causing you." _Makihara's shook his head, his shoulders slumping down.

"_Ryo-sama, I do not presume to know what caused your nightmares tonight," _he replied. "_But please let me express my sincere regrets over your misfortune…and my certainty that you do not deserve so much unhappiness. So please, sleep well."_

Makihara walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, his heart heavy over what he had just had to do. He turned to walk away, but paused as he contemplated looking in on Ryo one last time before retiring. As he started to move back toward the door, however, he was startled to find Itaro walking down the hallway.

"_Itaro-sama? I thought you had gone back to your room for the night," _Makihara said. "_Is there something I can do for you?"_

"_Actually yes," _Itaro said. "_You have the key to this room, correct?"_

"_Well, yes sir."_

"_Good," _Itaro responded. "_I want you to lock the door."_

"_Itaro-sama," _Makihara gaped at him. "_If I do that, Ryo-sama won't be able to leave the room. What if he needs something?"_

"_He's just going to sleep for the rest of the night, right?" _Itaro said. "_So what is the harm in locking up his room until breakfast tomorrow? He'll have access to a bathroom if he needs it, and if he gets bored, he has those books you put in the room. This way, he won't have to worry about anything or anyone disturbing his sleep and we won't have to worry about what he might do for the rest of the night."_

"_Itaro-sama, I don't think that…."_

"_Makihara, do I need to remind you who is in charge of this place while my father is away?" _Itaro asked with more than a little menace in his voice. Makihara bowed his head.

"_No sir."_

"_I didn't think so," _Itaro said. "_Now, do as I say and lock this door. And make sure to keep it locked until breakfast is served tomorrow morning."_

"_I understand, sir," _Makihara mumbled as he pulled out his keys from his pocket. He then locked the door to Ryo's room and once he was done, Itaro gave him a curt nod and left Makihara alone in the hallway. Makihara slowly followed Itaro down the stairs, glancing back at Ryo's room more than once as he did so.

'_Ryo-sama…I believe that it is us who should be asking for forgiveness…for all the trouble we continue to give you.'_

* * *

Back in the room, Ryo laid in bed on his side, his face turned toward a window near his bed. He had heard the sound of a key in the door a moment ago, and he was certain that he had been locked in. Although he was confident that he could get out if he really wanted to, Ryo couldn't help but feel dejected that they had felt the need to make him a prisoner in his own bedroom.

Ryo pulled the blankets closer to him while he looked up at the moon in the sky which was starting to drift behind a cloud. He thought back to the last couple of days he had spent in Shibata's mansion and the reactions he got from the people living here and considered how, apart from Shibata, Matsumura, and Makihara, most of them reacted to him with fear or disgust if not both.

'_I thought it'd be different here…with them being Japanese like me,' _Ryo pondered. '_But I guess I'm still too strange, too different to really belong here either.'_

'_Is it really like Itaro said? Do they really think I'm a monster?'_

Ryo blinked back the wetness in his eyes and continued to stare at the night sky. Most of the time, he tried to tell himself that he was used to standing out and not fitting in with other people due to his age, his race or the fact that he was already budding professional even though he was still a child. Still, that did not change the fact that his heart always ached some when his sense of alienation was brought to the forefront of his mind in some way...like it was tonight.

As he struggled to relax, it also occurred to Ryo that, in the past, he was usually able to cope with these feelings by reminding himself that, no matter how much other people were repelled by him, he could always count on Kaibara, Norester and the Professor to make him feel welcome and accepted. He took comfort in the fact that they understood his situation and did not judge him because of it.

Most of all though, he found solace in the fact that his father in particular always looked beyond the surface and focused on who Ryo was in his mind and heart while not caring at all about things like how he ate, how loud he snored at night, and the fact that he practiced shooting guns every day.

Ryo let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, weariness starting to overtake him again. He knew that it would probably be a few more days before he could go back to his father and to Norester's home, and he figured that it would only make things worse if he dwelled on how much he wished he was already back with them.

Still, that did not stop Ryo from dreaming about Kaibara and his life with him for the rest of the night.

* * *

The next couple of days passed without incident with Shibata and Matsumura returning to the mansion from their trip and Ryo making sure to avoid creating any more problems with Shibata's family or the house staff. Shibata had been surprised at the incident that led to the door to Ryo's room being broken and Ryo moving up to another room and had questioned Itaro's decision to lock Ryo in his room. In the end though, Itaro had been able to convince his father that he had acted only out of everyone's best interest, and Ryo expressed no desire to go back to the room he had occupied once the door had been fixed.

"_I might as well stay here for the rest of the time anyway," _Ryo had told Shibata. "_After all, Makihara-san already moved a bunch of my stuff here."_

Eventually Shibata gave in to Ryo's suggestion, but only after ordering his staff to thoroughly clean the room and after buying some additional furnishings to make it more pleasant for Ryo. Shibata then continued to give Ryo everything he thought Ryo might want and was stymied when Ryo showed little interest in any of his presents. Soon, Shibata became concerned at how Ryo spent a great deal of time by himself and at how listless Ryo appeared to be.

Unfortunately, Shibata soon found himself far too busy to tend to it himself, so one day he told Matsumura to take Ryo into town and let him choose where he wanted to go, hoping that some time spent out might lift his spirits. Matsumura readily agreed and asked Ryo to join her for lunch at one of the finer cafes in town. The two of them had a light lunch, and Matsumura couldn't help but notice how peaked Ryo was and how little he ate.

After walking around in silence for almost an hour, Matsumura placed her hand on Ryo's arm, causing him to look up at her.

"_Ryo-chan, is something bothering you?" _she asked him. "_You do not seem well. Perhaps you are coming down with something?"_

"_Nah, I don't think so," _Ryo said with a smile. "_I guess I'm just not used to taking it easy all the time."_

"_I have noticed that you don't seem to be training as much as you did when you first came here," _Matsumura replied. "_And it does have me and Shibata-sama a little worried."_

"_Oh, that's nothing to worry about," _Ryo laughed. "_Sometimes I just overdo it and then I need to slow down for a while. Oyaji is always telling me that I need to be careful to not wear myself out so that I'll be ready in case something unexpected happens."_

"_I suppose that makes sense," _Matsumura said. "_But Ryo-chan, you will make sure to let me or Shibata-sama know if there is anything wrong, won't you?"_

"_I will," _Ryo nodded. "_And thanks for taking me out for lunch today. It's been fun."_

"_You're very welcome Ryo-chan," _Matsumura smiled at him. "_Would you like to head back now?" _Ryo opened his mouth to respond, but then hesitated after glancing at the shops across the road from him.

"_Can I stop at one more place before we go?" _Ryo asked.

"_Sure," _Matsumura said. "_Was there something in particular you wanted to buy?"_

"_Just some supplies," _Ryo said, pointing to one of the shops. "_It'll just be a minute." _Matsumura looked over in the direction where Ryo was pointing and gasped when she realized that it was a shop that sold guns and ammunition.

"_Ryo-chan, I don't think they will let you buy anything that they sell there," _she said cautiously.

"_It's ok," _Ryo grinned at her. "_The people here know me and oyaji. Oyaji did the owner a favor a long time ago, so now he always makes sure to help us get whatever we need at really good prices. Would you like to meet him?"_

"_That's all right," _Matsumura said. "_I think I'll just wait for you outside."_

"_Ok," _Ryo said as he darted across the street. "_I'll just be a few minutes." _

Matsumura shook her head as she watched Ryo walk into the store and be greeted by the man behind the counter.

'_Unbelievable,' _she told herself. '_That man is acting like Ryo is just another customer and totally ignoring the fact that he's a child.'_

'_Just what kind of person is Kaibara? What kind of man brings a boy into a world like this?'_

Matsumura turned away from the store front and walked over to lean against a brick wall in a nearby alley. She didn't like to think about how at ease Ryo was with guns and violence and wished that there was some way that Shibata could convince Ryo to put the lifestyle he had had for the past few years aside and live like an ordinary boy.

Matsumura was so lost in her thoughts; she did not notice it when a pair of men quietly approached her from the side until they were stand right next to her. She tried to walk away, but one of them immediately moved to block her path.

"Hey pretty lady, you're not from around here, are you?" one of them leered at her. "How about we give you a personal tour of the city?"

"No thank you," Matsumura told him. "Would you please move aside? I would like to go now."

"Hey, who do you think you are, you uppity witch," the other man snarled at her.

"Maybe we should teach her a lesson in manners," the first man said with a smirk.

Matsumura backed away from them and turned to run while reaching into her purse for the small handgun she used to ward off potential muggers. But the men grabbed her arms, making her drop her purse, and dragged her into the alley. She tried to scream for help, but one of the men clamped a hand over her mouth until they were away from the main streets. He then slapped her across the face and threw her to the ground.

"Now, I think it's time we got better acquainted," the first man said. "And don't worry, I'll make sure you learn all you need to know about being polite."

"Let me go," Matsumura spat at them. She then tried to get back onto her feet, but both men pushed her back onto the ground and knelt down beside her while holding her in place. One of the men grabbed her by the hair and started to push her face close to his. Matsumura struggled, but could not escape their grasp.

'_Please,' _she pleaded inwardly as she closed her eyes. '_Please, someone…anyone….'_

'_Please help me.'_

Suddenly Matsumura heard a loud thud and a yelp of pain as the men let her go while pushing back onto the pavement. She opened her eyes to see a trashcan lid lying nearby and the man who had had a hold of her hair rubbing his hand. She then looked over at the entrance of the alley to see Ryo standing there, his eyes full of anger.

"Get away from her," Ryo growled at them. Both men stared at him for a moment more before bursting into laughter.

"Or what?" one man chortled. "Or you'll go crying to your mommy? Is that who this is, your mommy? Why should we be afraid of you?"

"I said, leave her alone," Ryo replied, taking a couple of slow, deliberate steps toward them. "Or else."

Both Matsumura and the men were shocked at the calm, menacing tone in Ryo's voice and the impassive expression on his face. That shock soon dissipated, however, and both men pulled out knives from their coat pockets.

"Looks like we're going to need to teach you a lesson too," one of the men said, chuckling. "And don't think we're going to go easy on you because you're a kid."

"Ryo-chan, run," Matsumura yelled at him. "Don't worry about me."

"Don't worry, Matsumura-san," Ryo smirked at her. "These guys are just amateurs." Both men immediately gritted their teeth and started to rush toward Ryo.

"You little brat, I'll….."

The man did not get a chance to finish his sentence, however, as Ryo smoothly dodged him with ease and continued to weave around both men, making sure neither of them could get too close to him. After almost a minute of this, Ryo struck back by picking up some rocks from the ground and throwing them. Most of them hit their marks, striking the men near their eyes and causing them to drop their knives.

"Ow, you'll pay for that."

Neither man got the chance to make good on that threat, however, as Ryo unleashed a series of kicks to their knees, causing them to stumble to the ground. Ryo took advantage of the opening to help Matsumura to her feet and to push her to stand behind him. One of the men pulled out a revolver, but hesitated when Ryo yanked out his Magnum from a holster hidden under his tee shirt.

"Give up now, and I'll let you run away," Ryo told them.

"Ha, are you kidding me?" the man with the gun said. "Time for me to give you what's coming to you."

The man started to move his finger closer to the trigger while Ryo narrowed his eyes at him. All of the sudden, the other man grabbed the first man's arm.

"What's going on? I was just about to…."

"Wait, don't you see his gun?" the other man said. "It's a Colt Python. Don't you know what that means?" The first man stared at Ryo for a moment more before blinking hard and growing pale.

"My God," he said. "Oriental kid….Colt Python…that means he's…he's…."

"Everyone always says that he travels around with a kid," the other man said. "And that anyone who even looks at that kid the wrong way becomes his target…and everyone knows that you're as good as dead when that happens. That gun….this kid must be him….and that means…."

"Shin Kaibara," the first man said in a hoarse whisper.

Matsumura was about to ask how they knew Kaibara when her mouth dropped open in surprise at the way both men started to tremble and then dropped down to their knees.

"Please," they begged in unison. "We're sorry. We didn't mean anything. We didn't know, honest. Please kid, don't tell Kaibara about us." Ryo took a step closer to them and pulled back the hammer on his gun.

"I won't tell him if you go away now and never come back," Ryo told them.

"You'll never see us again, we swear," the men bellowed before leaping to their feet and running out of the alley. Once they were gone, Ryo put his gun away and turned toward Matsumura.

"_Are you all right?" _he asked her. "_Did they hurt you?"_

"_I…I'm fine," _Matsumura stammered. "_Thank you." _

Ryo nodded and looked back at the entrance at the alley. As he did, Matsumura was stunned at the look in Ryo's eyes and at the aura that surrounded him. In that moment, Matsumura could not see him as a child and instead felt as if she was in the presence of a soldier.

'_No, not just a soldier,' _she told herself. '_A protector. Someone who shields others from vile people like those men just now.'_

"_Ryo-chan, I am sorry," _she said to him. "_I am so sorry that I put you in a dangerous situation like that." _Ryo looked back at her and she was surprised by the grin on his face.

"_That's ok, Matsumura-san," _he told her. "_I told you, this is the work oyaji and I do all the time. So don't worry about it."_

"_Those men, they really seemed to be petrified of Kaibara-san," _Matsumura said.

"_Yeah, a lot of the bad people are," _Ryo giggled. "_Oyaji never says it, but I'm pretty sure that's how he likes it. I mean, it makes oyaji's work a lot easier when they're so scared they just run away when they hear his name."_

"_Ryo-chan…is what they said true?" _Matsumura asked him quietly. "_Would Kaibara-san really react that strongly if anyone were to attempt to harm you in any way?" _Ryo's smile immediately vanished and he looked over at the horizon.

"_Matsumura-san…a lot of people spread all kinds of rumors about oyaji," _he said. "_About how scary he is, about how mean and cruel he can be…But most of it isn't true, you know. It's just stuff that people say and oyaji doesn't bother telling them otherwise because he doesn't care about what they think. But…."_

"_But?" _Matsumura replied. Ryo let out a sigh and shook his head.

"_It's nothing," _he said. "_I left my stuff back at the shop. I'll go pick it up and then let's go back to your place."_

"_All right," _Matsumura said, brushing her dress off. She watched Ryo race over to the shop and grab a package from the counter before meeting her back at the entrance of the alley. They started to walk back when Ryo stopped to stare at the street in front of him. Matsumura looked over at the direction he was facing to see what had caught his eye.

A few feet away, Matsumura watched a small boy laugh and chase after a man who kept looking back at him and smiling. The boy held out his arms toward the man and jumped up and down.

"Come on Daddy," the boy said. "Carry me, carry me." The man laughed and scooped the boy up into his arms.

"All right, you little imp," the man said as the boy giggled. "Time to take you home."

"Daddy, will you read me a story tonight?" the boy asked as the man carried him. The man smiled again and held the boy closer to him.

"Of course," he said. "But this time, you're not staying up so late. You hear me?"

The man then carried the boy away down a side street, and Matsumura let out a smile at the scene. She then looked down at Ryo and was startled to see a pair of tears running down his face as he watched the man walk away with his child in his arms.

"_Ryo-chan? Are you all right?" _she asked him gently. Ryo scrubbed at his face and looked up at her with another wan smile.

"_Yeah, I'm good,"_ he said. "_We should get going before it gets too dark."_

Matsumura nodded at him, and the two of them walked in silence. As she walked, she continued to think about not only how Ryo acted like an adult and looked like a professional while he saved her, but also how he looked just a moment ago upon seeing that man with his child.

It was then that she reminded herself that, despite his boisterous personality, his extraordinary skills and his grim past, Ryo was still a young boy. A boy who was still growing and still learning about the world. A boy who still needed to be nurtured and protected.

A boy who, in that moment, was clearly missing the man he knew as his father.

* * *

After they got home, Matsumura told Shibata about what had happened in town. At first, Shibata fussed over how much danger Ryo had jumped into, but eventually, he couldn't help but be impressed by Ryo's bravery and skill.

"_Ryo, I want to thank you for protecting Matsumura," _he told him. "_As I am sure you know by now, she is very important to me…as a highly valued member of my staff, of course. And I must say, I am very proud of your courage and your ability to defend yourself."_

"_Ah, it's no big deal," _Ryo said as he blushed and smiled at Shibata's praise. "_I'm just glad I could help out."_

Shibata was about to say more when Ryo suddenly stumbled and started to collapse onto the carpet. Shibata and Matsumura managed to catch him before he fell and guided Ryo to sit down on a nearby couch.

"_Ryo? Ryo are you all right?" _Shibata asked him, placing a hand to Ryo's forehead.

"_I…I'm ok,"_ Ryo mumbled. "_Just a little dizzy is all. I guess I need to rest."_

Shibata went over to push a button on his desk, and seconds later, Makihara appeared in the room.

"_Yes sir,"_ Makihara said.

"_Makihara, Ryo isn't feeling well," _Shibata said. "_I want you to take him up to his room and put him to bed. And tell the chef to make up some rice porridge for Ryo to eat."_

"_Um, that's ok, Shibata-san," _Ryo said. "_I'm not really that hungry…and besides, I'm just tired is all. I just need some sleep."_

"_All right," _Shibata said. "_But just the same, Makihara will be taking you to your room and making sure you are settled. Later on, I will be checking on you, so if you get hungry, just let me know then if you want anything."_

"_Ok," _Ryo shrugged as he walked with Makihara out of the room. After they were gone, Shibata sat down on the couch with Matsumura settling down beside him.

"_Ryo-chan did seem kind of tired earlier," _she said. "_And given what he did a little while ago, it's not too surprising that he's exhausted now."_

"_You're right, it's possible," _Shibata said with a frown. "_Nevertheless, I will closely monitor his condition from now on. If he gets any worse or doesn't get any better within the next two days, I'm calling for a doctor."_

* * *

Unbeknownst to either Shibata or Matsumura, Itaro was standing just outside the room, near the doorway, listening to their conversation.

'_Damn, this isn't good,' _he told himself. '_If a doctor examines that kid, otosan will probably find out that we've been poisoning him. And once that happens, it won't take long for otosan to figure out that it was me and Sadamutsu…and then he'll really let us have it.'_

Itaro clenched his hands into fists and walked down the hallway to find Sadamutsu.

'_We can't afford to let that happen,' _he thought. '_So I guess we're going to have to find a quicker way to get rid of this brat.'_

'_And I know just the people who could help me out with that.'_


End file.
